The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post
Robert S. Litt, General Counsel to the Director of National Intelligence, spoke at Brookings on Friday about surveillance law.
Jane Chong and I had a great time previewing and then recapping the oral arguments in Al-Aulaqi v.
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Robert S. Litt, General Counsel to the Director of National Intelligence, spoke at Brookings on Friday about surveillance law.
Jane Chong and I had a great time previewing and then recapping the oral arguments in Al-Aulaqi v. Panetta, the civil suit brought by the families of three U.S. citizens killed by 2011 drone strikes in Yemen against top government officials.
Columbia Law's David Pozen guest-posted about what comes next once (or if) Edward Snowden is in U.S. custody. And Ben delved into one of the lesser-discussed documents Snowden leaked---namely, a draft report from 2009 by the NSA's Inspector General that provides details of surveillance programs in the Bush administration. Ben also commented on the DoJ's response to a query by Rep. James Sensenbrenner about the DOJ's interpretation of Section 215.
John made the case for an Obama administration cert petition in the latest foreign government official immunity cases---Yousef v. Samantar, a Fourth Circuit case. He then penned a piece in the New York Times Room for Debate page about diplomatic immunity.
Wells updated us on the latest filings in Hamad v. Gates, a GTMO-related appeal: the parties are going at it over supplemental authority. Meanwhile, the D.C. Circuit ordered a stay of District Judge Royce Lamberth's order invalidating certain JTF detainee screening procedures, as the U.S. government appealed the decision.
And Judge Rosemary Collyer released her decision on three motions by GTMO detainees requesting an injunction against forced feeding. Wells wrote up a summary of her order denying the injuction here.
Wells also posted the Second Circuit's decision holding in the NDAA-related Hedges case that the plaintiffs lack standing. Ben followed up with his take on the decision.
The Fourth Circuit, meanwhile, ruled that journalist Jeffrey Risen will have to testify in the prosecution of a CIA officer for leaking classified information. Wells had this under control too.
The New York Times's Nicole Perlroth and David Sanger wrote over the weekend about the market for hackers---Paul commented on the story and a related provision in the Senate version of the NDAA (S.1197). He also noted a rather interesting-looking cybersecurity legislative proposal that seems to meet Democrats and Republicans halfway.
Check out Ben's better half's latest event at Brookings on the situation in Egypt. Speaking of, Laura Dean's got more diary entries on the goings-on in Cairo, and John wondered about the applicability of coup sanctions to U.S. military aid to Egypt.
On another conflict in the Middle East, Jack commented on the influence of government attorneys on the Obama administration's Syria policy.
Rick noted Stephen Holmes's review of Mark Mazzetti's book over at the Financial Times. Ken recommended a piece at Opinio Juris by Kevin Jon Heller about a new NBC series: Crossing Lines. And Bobby shared details of a workshop this week at Oxford International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law.
And that was the week that was.
Raffaela Wakeman is a Senior Director at In-Q-Tel. She started her career at the Brookings Institution, where she spent five years conducting research on national security, election reform, and Congress. During this time she was also the Associate Editor of Lawfare. From there, Raffaela practiced law at the U.S. Department of Defense for four years, advising her clients on privacy and surveillance law, cybersecurity, and foreign liaison relationships. She departed DoD in 2019 to join the Majority Staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where she oversaw the Intelligence Community’s science and technology portfolios, cybersecurity, and surveillance activities. She left HPSCI in May 2021 to join IQT.
Raffaela received her BS and MS in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015, where she was recognized for her commitment to public service with the Joyce Chiang Memorial Award. While at the Department of Defense, she was the inaugural recipient of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s General Counsel Award for exhibiting the highest standards of leadership, professional conduct, and integrity.
