Topics
Armed Conflict
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Rational Security: The “All Takin’ and No Givin’” Edition
Scott Anderson, Benjamin Wittes, Julia Curlee, and Alex Zerden talk through the week’s big news in national security. -
Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Gaza Ceasefire
A deal that disarms Hamas may not disarm Gaza. -
Colombia’s Transitional Justice Was Built to Survive de la Espriella
It is a global model for its domestic, not international, legal origins. Future peace may be the real cost of de la Espriella’s attacks.
Congress
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The Boat Strikes Aren’t Part of a War. They’re Murder.
By debating war powers and war crimes, Congress is missing the simpler, graver truth: The president is directing summary executions. -
Can the Midterms Be 'Stolen' On Jan. 3? It's Complicated.
Panic about a 'rogue clerk' is likely unwarranted—but it's worth paying attention. -
Shutdown Reform’s Constitutional Blind Spot: The Two-Year Clause
A bill to automatically fund the government in an appropriations lapse would end shutdowns—except the Two-Year Clause forbids funding the Army permanently.
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Courts & Litigation
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U.K. Supreme Court Opens Door for Spyware Victims to Sue Foreign States
The Kingdom of Bahrain cannot claim immunity from a suit by exiled dissidents over harm caused by spyware surveillance on U.K. soil. -
Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, August 28
Join the Lawfare team at 4 pm ET for a discussion of the litigation surrounding the Trump administration. -
The Federal Trade Commission After Trump v. Slaughter
AI governance and the remaking of an independent commission.
Criminal Justice & Rule of Law
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What’s So Special About a Special Grand Jury?
A primer on how special grand juries work, what federal law actually permits them to do, and why this one might backfire. -
The FBI Proved Comey’s Innocence. The DOJ Indicted Anyway.
In the seashells case, the FBI searched for proof that gangsters used “86” to mean “kill” and that Comey knew it. Now an expert says their theory is “preposterous.” -
Pig-Butchering Scams and the Limits and Promise of Civil Forfeiture
The United States has increasingly used civil forfeiture to recover cryptocurrency stolen by transnational scam networks. The strategy has produced important seizures—but it remains structurally fragile ...
Cybersecurity & Tech
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Invisible Source Skew
Our information flows aren’t just threatened by slop or foreign actors. They're being reshaped by invisible decisions from AI companies. -
U.K. Supreme Court Opens Door for Spyware Victims to Sue Foreign States
The Kingdom of Bahrain cannot claim immunity from a suit by exiled dissidents over harm caused by spyware surveillance on U.K. soil. -
Scaling Laws, Founders & Founders: Brandon Mitchell of WriteSea
Democracy & Elections
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Lawfare Daily: Israel's Most Consequential Election, with Natan Sachs
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Can the Midterms Be 'Stolen' On Jan. 3? It's Complicated.
Panic about a 'rogue clerk' is likely unwarranted—but it's worth paying attention. -
OLC’s Dangerous, and Wrong, Opinion About the Posse Comitatus Act
OLC’s recent opinion about the PCA is unmoored from statute and case law and has dangerous implications for domestic uses of the military.
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Executive Branch
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Lawfare Live: The Trials of the Trump Administration, August 28
Join the Lawfare team at 4 pm ET for a discussion of the litigation surrounding the Trump administration. -
Rational Security: The “All Takin’ and No Givin’” Edition
Scott Anderson, Benjamin Wittes, Julia Curlee, and Alex Zerden talk through the week’s big news in national security. -
The Boat Strikes Aren’t Part of a War. They’re Murder.
By debating war powers and war crimes, Congress is missing the simpler, graver truth: The president is directing summary executions.
Foreign Relations & International Law
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U.K. Supreme Court Opens Door for Spyware Victims to Sue Foreign States
The Kingdom of Bahrain cannot claim immunity from a suit by exiled dissidents over harm caused by spyware surveillance on U.K. soil. -
The Boat Strikes Aren’t Part of a War. They’re Murder.
By debating war powers and war crimes, Congress is missing the simpler, graver truth: The president is directing summary executions. -
Lawfare Daily: Trump, Kim, and the Future of Korea
Catching up on the U.S. negotiations with North Korea.
Intelligence
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Lawfare Daily: Censorship Incentives with Julia Curlee and Mike Feinberg
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The Censorship Machine: Silencing the National Security Workforce
A campaign of public retaliation and personal incentives has taught current and former public servants to stay silent. -
A History of LGBT Officers & the Central Intelligence Agency
The CIA spent seven decades moving from purging LGBT officers to embracing them—until the second Trump administration began undoing that work.
States & Localities
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Rational Security: The "Sloop John Stamos" Edition
Scott Anderson, Alan Rozenshtein, Michael Feinberg, and Loren Voss talked through the week’s big news in national security. -
Trafficking in Israel’s War Crimes in a Midtown Manhattan Synagogue
Participation in the promotion of land sales in the occupied Palestinian territories violates the Geneva Conventions and may be a war crime. -
Within Bounds: State Authority to Regulate Federal Contractors
As private actors take on more federal functions, states retain broad but bounded authority to hold federal contractors accountable.
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Surveillance & Privacy
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Chasing Surveillance Powers, Canada Risks the CLOUD Act Deal It Needs
Bill C-22’s anti-security powers could cost Canada the tool it needs most to modernize investigations for the cloud era. -
Closing the Front Door: The Case for DOJ’s Bulk Data Security Program
No one hacked us. Adversaries are buying U.S. troops’ location data on the open market. Privacy laws can’t stop them, but DOJ can. -
Immigration as a Test Case for Executive AI Governance
DHS deploys AI in immigration enforcement largely untested, undisclosed, and unreviewed, a preview of how AI could reshape executive power.
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Terrorism & Extremism
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The Church Bells Still Ring
A year after the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting, an examination of faith and fidelity to nothing. -
Rational Security: The "Sloop John Stamos" Edition
Scott Anderson, Alan Rozenshtein, Michael Feinberg, and Loren Voss talked through the week’s big news in national security. -
Dispatch: Setting Up Secret Courts
The first public hearing of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had its stumbles.
