The Prosecution of Smartmatic
A rare corporate FCPA indictment tests whether courts will more closely interrogate prosecutorial motive.
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Tracking Government Non-Compliance in Habeas Corpus Cases
View the tracker here.
Breaking Down OMB’s Growing Use of Category C
A tool to withhold federal funds for use in future fiscal years is increasingly being employed to advance administration priorities.
Revenge of Rumsfeld’s Fourth Quadrant—Closing the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s closure of the strait reveals a lack of U.S. operational planning in a foreseeable contingency.
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Security Versus Interoperability: Real Tension or False Dichotomy?
Technology companies cite security risks to push back against antitrust regulation. Are these real risks or just efforts to evade regulation?
Myth of the AI Oracle
Even the most capable AI will face limits on its ability to make predictions and substitute for strategic decision-making.
Highlights
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The Prosecution of Smartmatic
A rare corporate FCPA indictment tests whether courts will more closely interrogate prosecutorial motive. -
Breaking Down OMB’s Growing Use of Category C
A tool to withhold federal funds for use in future fiscal years is increasingly being employed to advance administration priorities. -
Revenge of Rumsfeld’s Fourth Quadrant—Closing the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s closure of the strait reveals a lack of U.S. operational planning in a foreseeable contingency. -
Security Versus Interoperability: Real Tension or False Dichotomy?
Technology companies cite security risks to push back against antitrust regulation. Are these real risks or just efforts to evade regulation? -
Myth of the AI Oracle
Even the most capable AI will face limits on its ability to make predictions and substitute for strategic decision-making. -
The Week That Was
Your weekly summary of everything on the site. -
Three Hundred Habeas Cases in Which the Government Has Defied Court Orders
A database of non-compliance with court orders around the country. -
Understanding Iran’s Strategy—Then, Now, and Next
A review of Vali Nasr’s “Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History” (Princeton University Press, 2025) -
Congress: Give the President Discretion to Remove the Cuba Embargo
The statutory codification of the Cuba embargo limits U.S. options to change sanctions. -
FISA Section 702 Isn’t Broken. Why Are We Still Trying to Fix It?
Recent statutory reforms are working, so discredited arguments and misleading claims shouldn’t be allowed to derail reauthorization. -
America's Next Top (Cyber) Model
The latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, now on Lawfare. -
End of the Sde Teiman Abuse Case: The IDF MAG Withdraws Indictments
Following a public scandal involving the old MAG, the new MAG terminated proceedings against soldiers charged with serious abuse of a Palestinian detainee. -
MSPB Strikes Down Tenure Protections for Immigration Judges
The latest MSPB case poses significant concerns for the civil service. -
What Is Trump’s ‘Election Integrity’ Order Even Trying to Achieve?
It isn’t easy for the executive to impose election requirements, because the Constitution makes it impossible. But that hasn’t stopped the president from trying. -
The State Department’s X Directive and the End of Platform Independence
A cable endorsing a social media platform by name as a tool of U.S. diplomacy and military psychological operations would have been unthinkable—until recently.
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Featured Podcast
Live Coverage
For real-time updates of Lawfare’s coverage of the Trump administration’s legal challenges, follow on Bluesky or below:
What's Old Is New Again
With every new administration comes new promises and new actions on national security. But what’s “new” has often been proposed or even tried before—which means there’s a good chance Lawfare has already analyzed some of the legal and policy implications they present. So we’re making that past content readily accessible as it becomes newly relevant.
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What Congress Has Done—and What It Still Needs to Do—to Protect NATO
Congress has barred the president from exiting NATO unilaterally. But someone still needs to enforce it. -
Using Force Against Mexican Drug Cartels: Domestic and International Law Issues
Executive branch lawyers could argue that using force against cartels would be consistent with past presidential uses of force, but it would be very difficult to defend under international law. -
My Lloyd Cutler Rule of Law Lecture: "Law and the Use of Force: Challenges for the Next President"
Read John Bellinger's Lloyd Cutler Lecture on Rule of Law at the Supreme Court.
Documents
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Trump Signs Executive Order Purporting to Restrict Mail-in Voting
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ODNI Releases 2026 Threat Assessment
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U.S. Submits Article 51 Letter on ‘Operation Epic Fury’ to UNSC
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Anthropic Challenges the Pentagon’s Supply Chain Risk Determination
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Anthropic Sues Defense Department Over Supply Chain Risk Designation
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White House Submits Iran War Powers Report to Congress
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Supreme Court Rules Against Trump’s Emergency Power Tariffs
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Fulton Co. Election Office Search Warrant Affidavits Made Public
The Lawfare Podcast 
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Lawfare Daily: Arne Westad on ‘The Coming Storm’
Arne Westad discusses 19th- and 20th-century power politics. -
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, April 3
Listen to the April 3 livestream as a podcast. -
Lawfare Daily: The Privacy Law That's Supposed To Be Protecting Us Online Turns 40
Listen to Michael Dreeben's opening remarks from an event marking 40 years of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
Other Lawfare Podcasts
Other Podcasts
Videos & Webinars
Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, April 3
Join the Lawfare team at 4 pm ET for a discussion of the litigation surrounding the Trump administration.
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Hard National Security Choices
Lawfare is a non-profit multimedia publication dedicated to “Hard National Security Choices.” We provide non-partisan, timely analysis of thorny legal and policy issues through our written, audio, and other content—all of which you can find here.
