The Lawfare Podcast

Experts in conflict resolution, constitutional law, and international relations discuss the escalating conflict in Yemen, exploring legal justifications for US military operations against Houthi rebels. They delve into the process of reporting military deployments, recent executive branch practice in understanding legal theory, and the scope of self-defense in strikes. They also analyze potential justifications for military intervention in Yemen and the administration's reliance on creative statutory interpretations without congressional authorization.

Director Andrea Gacki, an expert in FinCEN operations and activities, discusses FinCEN's involvement in the Binance settlement, new policies tackling beneficial ownership and real estate, and collaborations with global organizations. They also explore the implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act, proposed rules for investment advisors, and collaborative efforts with the Department of Commerce to detect export control violations and terrorist financing. The challenges of cooperation and information sharing are discussed, along with upcoming priorities for FinCEN.

Guests Molly Reynolds and Anna Bower discuss key national security legislation in Congress, allegations against Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis, and the Biden administration's support for seizing Russia's frozen assets. The podcast also includes personal experiences with home renovations and a book recommendation.

Discussion on ongoing litigations regarding Section 3 and President Trump, delay in ruling on presidential immunity claim, interpretation of Appointments Clause, analysis of Hamilton article and Fulton County divorce case, authorization of testimony and requests for White House counsel officials, unique case of ignoring a subpoena and claiming executive privilege, update on Judge Eileen Cannon's proceedings and government's request for Trump's access, interpretation of text and updates on briefs and rulings.

John Bellinger, former legal adviser at the State Department, and Scott Anderson, Lawfare senior editor, discuss Biden's military strikes in Syria, the Biden administration's justification for the strikes, limited congressional notification and pre-strike briefing, advanced consultation, authorization, and domestic politics, potential changes in national security strategy, continuity of U.S. administration's approach to war powers and preemptive war, PPG implementation and AUMF reform, and the challenges of closing Guantanamo.

Hon. Kenneth L. Wainstein, Jameel Jaffer, and Quinta Jurecic discuss government surveillance of open-source social media, balancing privacy and security, challenges in detecting threats, the debate on government surveillance, the information deficit problem, the need for updated legal frameworks, and the challenge of distinguishing threatening online communication.

Outer space is back in style. For the first time in decades, NASA is sending astronauts back to the moon. Millionaires are exiting the atmosphere on a regular basis. And Elon Musk says humans may land on Mars to set up settlements by 2030. But would mastering space be worth it?In their new book, “A City on Mars,” co-authors (and spouses) Dr. Kelly and Zach Weinersmith argue that it’s probably not. From biology to engineering to international law, they charmingly survey the many charms and dangers that space inevitably entails, with pictures to boot. For this week’s Chatter episode, Scott R. Anderson spoke with Kelly and Zach about their book, what role they think space exploration and settlement should play in humanity’s future, and why space may not be all it’s cracked up to be anytime soon.Among the works mentioned in this episode:The book “Soonish,” also by Kelly and Zach.The book “Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity” by Daniel Deudney.The book “The Creation of States in International Law” by James Crawford.The television series “The Expanse.”The 1970s film “Libra.”The television series “For All Mankind.”Chatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author Heather Cox Richardson discusses the state of American democracy, tracing the roots of Donald Trump's authoritarian experiment and exploring historical context. Topics include vulnerabilities in American democracy, the rise of authoritarianism, cycles of American democracy, distorted history, and concerns about the future of American democracy.

Jim Dempsey, Senior Policy Adviser at Stanford Cyber Policy Center, discusses the proposal for a software liability regime to shift liability onto those who should be securing their software. Topics include legal theories of liability, process-based safe harbor, certification approach, defining software liability standards, design flaws and liability, and the need for quick action in policy-making.

Shoba Pillay and Jennifer Lee discuss the cybersecurity and national security implications of the SolarWinds hack, the SEC's enforcement action against SolarWinds and its CISO, challenges faced by companies in addressing cybersecurity and accurate disclosures, SolarWinds' response to the SEC complaint, and the impact of the SolarWinds case on cybersecurity disclosures.