The Situation: No, Don’t Release The Epstein Files
I have a better idea.
Partners or Provocateurs? Private-Sector Involvement in Offensive Cyber Operations
A structured framework to evaluate the risks and benefits of authorizing private companies to “hack back.”
Lawfare Live: Trials of the Trump Administration, July 18
Join the Lawfare team at 4 pm ET for a discussion of the litigation targeting actions from President Trump.
The Cybersecurity Patchwork Quilt Remains Incomplete
Trump’s first executive order on cybersecurity embraced more Biden initiatives than it overturned, but still misses the mark—accountability.
Evaluating Congressional Sentiment Toward the Iran Strike
Media commentary suggested that President Trump’s June airstrikes overrode broad congressional opposition. The truth is more nuanced.
Crossing the Rubicon: U.S. Government Cash for Human Rights Violations
With a payment to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, President Trump appears to have hired a foreign government to arbitrarily detain hundreds of men.
Highlights
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The Situation: No, Don’t Release The Epstein Files
I have a better idea. -
Partners or Provocateurs? Private-Sector Involvement in Offensive Cyber Operations
A structured framework to evaluate the risks and benefits of authorizing private companies to “hack back.” -
The Cybersecurity Patchwork Quilt Remains Incomplete
Trump’s first executive order on cybersecurity embraced more Biden initiatives than it overturned, but still misses the mark—accountability. -
Evaluating Congressional Sentiment Toward the Iran Strike
Media commentary suggested that President Trump’s June airstrikes overrode broad congressional opposition. The truth is more nuanced. -
Crossing the Rubicon: U.S. Government Cash for Human Rights Violations
With a payment to El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, President Trump appears to have hired a foreign government to arbitrarily detain hundreds of men. -
The Awkward History of Russia’s Recent Recognition of the Taliban
A little over three decades after the Soviet Union and the mujahideen fought a long and brutal war, Russia officially recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. -
The Situation: Real Housewives of the Justice Department
A new reality show playing out before eyes. -
What to Make of the Justice Department’s Denaturalization Initiative
The policy will terrify some naturalized citizens without cause and may dissuade others from naturalizing or coming to the United States in the first place. -
Are Cyber Defenders Winning?
Attackers in cyberspace have long held system-wide advantages. Fighting back requires measuring progress. -
The Situation: The Case of Erez Reuveni
What if America had checks and balances and nobody came? -
The Week That Was
Your weekly summary of everything on the site. -
Russian and Ukrainian Peace Plans Remain a World Apart
A side by side comparison of the two competing visions for the war’s end -
The Paramount and Global Law Firm Settlements With Trump Don’t Constitute Bribery
Bribery law requires an unambiguous intent to influence a public official’s action through money or something else of value. -
Four Key Players Drive Scattered Spider
The latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, now on Lawfare. -
What Abrego’s Bail Hearing Revealed About Him—and the Trump Administration
The government’s goals in the detention hearing, the criminal case it relates to, and Abrego’s civil litigation are the same: political messaging.
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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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A Primer on the Civil Service and the Trump Administration
The broad discretion afforded to presidents to shape personnel policy poses a threat to the civil service during the Trump administration. -
Immigration Is Not Invasion
Texas’s argument equating the two goes against the text and original meaning of the Constitution, and would set a dangerous precedent if courts accept it. -
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.
Documents
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U.S. Court of Appeals Allows Withdrawal from 9/11 Pleas
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Justice Department Releases Letters Concerning PAFACAA Enforcement
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SCOTUS Grants Government Partial Stay in Birthright Citizenship Case
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White House Releases Letter Notifying Congress of Iran Strikes
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Trump Issues Full or Partial Travel Ban for 19 Countries
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White House Releases Memo Directing Investigation Into Biden Admin
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Trump Issues Proclamation to ‘Address Risks at Harvard University’
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New Facts About the RDI Program and the Treatment of a 9/11 Defendant
The Lawfare Podcast 
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Lawfare Daily: Reparations for Russia's Aggression Against Ukraine with Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi and Patrick Pearsall
Discussing Ukraine's reparations strategy. -
Lawfare Daily: David Noll on Civil Contempt Against a Defiant Executive
How can courts enforce their rulings? -
Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, July 11
Listen to the July 11 livestream as a podcast.
Other Lawfare Podcasts
Other Podcasts
Videos & Webinars
Lawfare Live: Trials of the Trump Administration, July 18
Join the Lawfare team at 4 pm ET for a discussion of the litigation targeting actions from President Trump.
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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.
