Laundering Federal Election Interference in the Midterms
The administration has turned an unfixable fact—Chinese parts in nearly every U.S. voting machine—into a license to contest any election it loses.
America's Driver's License Breach Is a National Security Disaster
Terrorism’s Second Act
A growing number of convicted terrorists are soon to be released from prison. There’s no plan to address potential recidivism.
Assessing the Legal Bases for the Defense Department’s Equity Stakes
Highlights
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Why We Opted Not to Work at the AI Labs
As AI labs draw professors and students away from universities, society risks losing the expertise to govern what those labs build. -
Laundering Federal Election Interference in the Midterms
The administration has turned an unfixable fact—Chinese parts in nearly every U.S. voting machine—into a license to contest any election it loses. -
9/11’s Legacy of Torture
Twenty-five years after the war on terror began, the United States still hasn’t grappled with its legacy of torture—or the law that enabled it. -
25 Years of Mass Surveillance Is Enough
Twenty-five years since 9/11, tech and political shifts have increasingly pitted mass surveillance against constitutional rights. -
The 25th Anniversary of the 2001 AUMF
It’s not terribly important today. -
America's Driver's License Breach Is a National Security Disaster
The latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, now on Lawfare. -
Terrorism’s Second Act
A growing number of convicted terrorists are soon to be released from prison. There’s no plan to address potential recidivism. -
Misunderstanding 9/11
The analytic mistakes made in the aftermath of the attacks still have lessons today. -
The Week That Was
Your weekly summary of everything on the site. -
Homeland Security 25 Years Later: Time to Rethink and Rebuild?
The DHS constructed by Congress in 2002 is now outdated, reviled by many, and was flawed from the start. Time to rethink and rebuild. -
The Changing Face of the Department of Homeland Security
From hunting al-Qaeda to hunting immigrants. -
Justice in the 9/11 Case Is Long Overdue
Political decisions across five administrations have paralyzed the 9/11 cases for 25 years. The Supreme Court can finally help deliver justice. -
Ordinary Origins: How 9/11 Built Today's Immigration Enforcement Machine
Post-9/11 data-sharing systems built for security quietly became the infrastructure for today’s automated immigration enforcement. -
The Unexpected Emergence of the EU as a U.S. Counterterrorism Partner
How the U.S. and the EU built law enforcement and counterterrorism information sharing in the wake of 9/11 -
Assessing the Legal Bases for the Defense Department’s Equity Stakes
The Pentagon has taken equity stakes in key suppliers without ever stating a legal basis—and its likely justifications don’t hold up.
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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The Return of Schedule F
The Trump administration has proposed new rules to remove due process protections for thousands of federal employees. -
Donald Trump and the Department of Justice
On the loyalty of lawyers and the attitude of voters -
Trump’s Attacks on Justice Department Independence, Then and Now
What the first Trump administration carried out slowly, the new administration is doing at once.
Documents
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White House Releases Executive Order Declaring a National Emergency Regarding the Electrical Grid
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White House Releases National Security Science & Technology Strategy
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Justice Department Releases Opinion on Military Arrests Near Borders
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White House Releases Executive Orders on Quantum Computing
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White House Releases Executive Order on AI
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Former Cuban President Raúl Castro Indicted
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Trump Administration Releases 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy
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Southern Poverty Law Center Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges
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Lawfare Daily: ‘A Whole Other Country,’ with Zoe Kurland and Terence O’Rourke
Discussing the secessionist movement in the mid-1990s called the “Republic of Texas.” -
Lawfare Daily: Sept. 11, 2001, 25 Years Later
The Lawfare team talks about how Sept. 11 shaped the U.S. national security apparatus and the guests’ careers. -
Lawfare Daily: The National Guard in Washington, D.C.
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Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, September 11
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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.


