The Week That Was

Quinta Jurecic explored the relationship between the courts and the Trump administration during its first and second terms. Jurecic highlighted that while judges struggled with deference to executive actions during President Donald Trump’s first term, they are now increasingly skeptical of the government and more inclined to accept that it is acting in bad faith.

On May 9 at 4 p.m. ET, Benjamin Wittes spoke to Anna Bower, Roger Parloff, James Pearce, and Preston Marquis about the status of civil litigation challenging Trump's executive actions:

Curtis Bradley, Jack Goldsmith, and Oona Hathaway broke down the terms of the recently signed agreement between the United States and Ukraine to establish a fund sharing revenues from the future extraction of Ukraine’s mineral and energy resources. Bradley, Goldsmith, and Hathaway explained that although this agreement is likely exempt from congressional consent, other associated agreements are still subject to authorization and transparency requirements.

On Rational Security, Wittes and Anastasiia Lapatina joined Scott R. Anderson to talk through the week’s big national security news, including the dismissal of Mike Waltz as national security adviser, the recently signed U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement, Russia’s plan to export natural gas from the Arctic to China, and more:

Graham Parsons argued that—in contrast to the prevailing notion that political neutrality requires absolute obedience to lawful orders—the military may justifiably resist extraordinary orders if they threaten civil society. Parsons highlighted how civilian leaders can use the military in ways that violate its neutrality and endanger the constitutional order.

Bower and Parloff reported from a May 7 hearing on whether to certify  J.G.G. v. Trump as a class action, with Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia presiding. 

Katherine Pompilio fact-checked Attorney General Pam Bondi’s claim that the Department of Justice’s seizure of 22 million fentanyl pills in Trump’s first 100 days in office has saved more than 258 million lives.

On Lawfare Daily, Olivia Manes sat down with Alexis Loeb to talk about the work of the recently dismantled Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, why it mattered for national security, the broader administrative trend towards non-enforcement of corruption, and more:

On Lawfare Daily, Wittes sat down with Anderson, Bower, Parloff, and Pearce to discuss the status of the civil litigation against Trump’s executive actions, including the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, the Alien Enemies Act, the dismantling of agencies across the executive branch, and more:

Also on Lawfare Daily, Laura Gamboa joined Jurecic to discuss democratic backsliding in Latin America, what it can tell us about the state of democracy in America today, and more. 

Kenneth Propp and DeBrae Kennedy-Mayo discussed criticism of the recently approved United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime—particularly Russia’s role in drafting it and its departures from the 2001 Budapest Convention—as well as the ramifications should the U.S. not sign the Convention.

Nema Milaninia discussed the legal and institutional consequences of Executive Order 14203, which imposes sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan. Milaninia also highlighted three lawsuits alleging the executive order violates constitutional rights and statutory provisions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

In the latest installment of Lawfare’s Foreign Policy Essay series, Raphael S. Cohen argued that the Trump administration’s negotiations with Iran will encounter the same obstacles—including limited scope, economic incentives, and a lack of permanent relief—that plagued the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015.

Loqman Radpey discussed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s attempts to strategically realign Turkish politics by shifting the Kurdish vote from the Republican People’s Party—which needs Kurdish support to win the 2028 elections—to the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party.

Sujit Raman and Nick Carlsen explained the crucial role that Chinese underground money laundering organizations play in the operations of Russian crime syndicates, North Korean hackers, and other actors in the illicit finance ecosystem. Raman and Carlsen called for the U.S. to develop a strategy to combat global financial crime through offensive cyber operations, private sector collaboration, and more.

On Lawfare Daily, Renee DiResta sat down with Mary Anne Franks, Becca Branum, and Adam Conner to discuss why the TAKE IT DOWN Act—the first major U.S. federal law to squarely target non‑consensual intimate imagery—gained bipartisan support, whether its sweeping takedown mandate will protect victims or chill lawful speech, and more.

Kevin Frazier and Adam Thierer explained that the growing number of regulatory artificial intelligence (AI) bills—if adopted into policy—could stifle innovation and undermine the United State’s competitive efforts toward global AI supremacy.

Also on Lawfare Daily, Ben Brooks joined Frazier to discuss the shift toward open-sourcing leading AI models, OpenAI’s plans to release a new open-weights model, the ramifications of that pivot for AI governance, and more

Alex O’Neill and Fred Heiding discussed how state-sponsored cyber threat actors leverage AI to carry out cyberattacks using social engineering techniques such as phishing and impersonation. O’Neill and Heiding emphasized the threat AI-enhanced attacks pose to both digital and real-world security and called for policymakers to proactively respond to these emerging threats. 

In the latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, Tom Uren discussed revelations that the Trump administration is using a less secure version of Signal known as TM SGNL, indications that the United States will increase offensive cyber operations, a court ruling that spyware vendor NSO Group must pay WhatsApp $167 million, and more. 

Sarah Lamdan reviewed Byron Tau’s “Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State,” which discusses the development of extensive surveillance infrastructure in the United States after 9/11. Lamdan emphasized the extent of the government’s collaboration with technology companies and the need for updated legal frameworks to address civil rights concerns.

Wittes explained how individuals and companies involved in Trump’s cryptocurrency scams risk violating two federal criminal statutes and emphasized the importance of promising future enforcement to deter their participation now. 

Joseph Pace highlighted the legal shortcomings of a recently filed lawsuit in which pro-Israel groups alleged that pro-Palestinian student groups at Columbia University aided and abetted Hamas’s terrorist operations. Pace argued that pro-Israel groups—despite knowing their complaints will not hold up in court—bring suit under the Anti-Terrorism Act to suppress dissent and stigmatize pro-Palestinian voices.

And Wittes reacted to Trump’s weekend proposals to reopen the Alcatraz prison and impose tariffs on foreign films.

And that was the week that was.