The Just Security Podcast

This week a U.S. public health measure known as Title 42 came to an end. The U.S. is supposed to allow people fleeing persecution to seek asylum. But Title 42 allowed the Department of Homeland Security to turn away asylum-seekers if detention centers lacked the room to hold them during the asylum vetting process. The policy made it difficult for migrants to even apply for asylum in the first place. They would often be released back into Mexico. But now, the old rules are back in place, and thousands of asylum seekers who have been stuck in limbo are poised to seek asylum again.The Biden administration is also rolling out a new set of policies designed to address asylum claims before migrants physically reach the U.S. border. It’s created a mobile app which people can use to schedule an appointment with immigration officials and the State Department is working on plans to open regional processing centers throughout the Western hemisphere.  The new measures could upend a simple idea at the heart of a complex immigration system: that people fleeing violence and persecution have the chance to find refuge in the United States. That change has massive implications for those who live in the U.S. and those trying to reach it.  To help us understand the end of Title 42 and what comes next we have Adam Cox, Michelle Hackman, and Cristina Rodriguez. Michelle is a reporter who covers immigration at the Wall Street Journal. Adam and Cristina are law professors at NYU and Yale respectively. They wrote a book called “The President and Immigration Law.”  Show Notes: Adam Cox (@adambcox) Michelle Hackman (@MHackman)Cristina Rodríguez (@cmrodriguez95)Adam and Cristina’s Just Security article analyzing the end of Title 42Just Security’s asylum coverageMichelle’s Wall Street Journal reporting  32:18 NYU’s American Journalism Online ProgramMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)

On May 4, 2023, a jury in Washington, D.C. found four Proud Boys leaders, including former Chairman Enrique Tarrio, guilty of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Proud Boys were the “tip of the spear” in planning and carrying out the January 6th attack. They tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. To help us understand what the verdict means, what’s missing, and what comes next, we have Tom Joscelyn and Mary McCord. Tom was a senior staff member on the House January 6th Committee and a lead drafter of its final report. He is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law. Mary is Executive Director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and a Visiting Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. She previously held senior national security roles at the Justice Department. Mary is a member of Just Security’s Editorial Board.  Show Notes:  Tom Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) Mary B. McCordTom’s Just Security article analyzing the conduct of some January 6th defendants Mary and Jacob Glick’s Just Security article on anti-democracy schemes and paramilitary violence and Mary’s articleanalyzing seditious conspiracy charges Just Security’s January 6 ClearinghouseJanuary 6th Committee final report33:20 NYU’s American Journalism Online ProgramMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)

As fighting in Sudan enters its third week, rival generals have turned the country’s capital, Khartoum, into a warzone. Mohamed Hamdan, better known as Hemedti, and his paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are fighting with Abdel Fatah al-Burhan, who leads the Sudanese Armed Forces. For years, Burhan and Hemedti have wrestled for power and control of Sudan. But until now, they’ve been on the same side. In 2019, they teamed up to remove the country’s long-time President Omar al-Bashir from power. And in 2021, they toppled the civilian government for military rule. The latest fighting is a clash between two men, but it’s also the latest chapter in Sudan’s long fight for freedom. To help us understand the conflict, what it means for the people of Sudan, and how it will impact the region, we have Quscondy Abdulshafi, Suliman Baldo, and Rebecca Hamilton. Quscondy is a Senior Regional Advisor at the nonprofit organization Freedom House. He has over a decade of experience working on human rights and peacebuilding in Sudan and East Africa. Suliman is the Executive Director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker, an organization that develops investigation and analysis of corruption in Sudan, led by Sudanese voices. Rebecca is a law professor at American University. But before that, she covered Sudan as a reporter for the Washington Post. Rebecca is also a member of Just Security’s Editorial Board. Show Notes: Quscondy Abdulshafi (@Qabdulshafi)Suliman BaldoRebecca Hamilton (@bechamilton)Sudan Transparency and Policy TrackerSuliman’s Just Security article on how the international community can respond to the conflictJust Security’s Sudan coverage32:35 NYU’s American Journalism Online ProgramMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)Music: “Broken” by David Bullard from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/david-bullard/broken (License code: OSC7K3LCPSGXISVI)

The Supreme Court is back in the news and it's for all the wrong reasons. ProPublica reports that Justice Clarence Thomas has vacationed on private jets and superyachts all paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow. But Thomas didn’t disclose those trips. And his actions are just the Court’s latest ethics scandal. Last summer someone leaked the decision in Dobbs, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. And the New York Times reports that the Supreme Court Historical Society – which is technically a charity – has raised over $23 million in the last two decades from private donors. The Society often hosts events where those private donors can meet and mingle with the Justices behind closed doors.That level of access to the Justices matters because each year the Court decides cases that impact everything from reproductive rights to gun control and the environment. The appearance that some people can buy influence on the court undermines the idea that everyone has an equal opportunity to have their case heard and fairly decided. In theory, there would be ethics laws in place to prevent a sitting Justice from accepting secret swanky vacations on superyachts and Adirondack hideaways. But do those laws really exist? To help us understand judicial ethics and what can be done to keep the Justices accountable, we have Caroline Fredrickson and Alan Neff.Caroline is a Visiting Professor at Georgetown Law and a Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. Alan recently co-edited Rule of Law this week for the American Constitution Society and is a former lawyer for the City of Chicago. They are both experts on judicial ethics and the judicial system.Show Notes: Caroline Fredrickson (@crfredrickson) Alan Neff (@AlanNeff)Caroline and Alan’s Just Security article on Supreme Court ethics  3:25 ProPublica’s reporting on Justice Thomas’ relationship with Harlan Crow 18:35 NYT article on the Supreme Court Historical Society (The Daily episode here) 23:25 NYU’s American Journalism Online ProgramMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)Music: “The Rose Jaguar” by Aaron Paul Low from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/the-rose-jaguar (License code: IKEHLJFJSB7OEKVS)

Civilians in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are living in a nightmare. In the past year, the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement – or M23 for short – has raped and killed dozens of civilians in the DRC’s North-Kivu province.And this isn’t the first time. A decade ago this same group operated in the same part of the Congo, with funding and some military support from Rwanda. But back then, in 2013, the Obama administration used diplomacy and legal tools, like sanctions to pressure Rwanda to stop its support of M23. The group collapsed without that Rwandan backing. And many analysts thought it was gone for good. Until now. Rwanda has restarted its support of M23 and the group is clashing with the Congolese military, attacking civilians along the way.Only this time, the US response has been more talk and less action. The Biden administration has warned Rwanda to withdraw support from M23, but it hasn’t used the same diplomatic and legal tools that worked a decade ago. To explain the conflict in DRC, and what the United States can do to pressure Rwanda to withdraw, we have Daniel Levine-Spound and Ari Tolany. Daniel is a human rights lawyer and researcher who specializes in the DRC and South Sudan. Ari is the Program Manager for the U.S. Program at the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), a nonprofit organization which works to prevent civilian harm.  Show Notes: Daniel Levine-Spound (@dlspound) Ari TolanyDaniel and Ari’s Just Security article on the M23 conflict and the U.S. response Just Security’s DRC coverageJust Security’s Rwanda coverage23:45 NYU’s American Journalism Online ProgramMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)Music: “Caravan” by “Arend” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/arend/caravan (License code: QVHYMGIQGD5TGMEP)

Russian authorities recently detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. They accused Gershkovich of being a spy and have held him on espionage charges since March 29. But Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he believes Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained.Evan’s arrest is Russia’s latest attempt to intimidate foreign correspondents reporting in the country. Those constant threats, and now the very real risk of arrest, are common tactics. They make it easier for the Russian government to spread propaganda to its citizens and harder for the rest of the world to understand what’s happening inside Russia. The Kremlin’s actions make it nearly impossible to hear from the Russian people directly.To help us understand Evan’s case and Russia’s control over the foreign press, we have Gulnoza Said and Oystein Bogen. Gulnoza is the Europe and Central Asia program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. Oystein is the D.C. Bureau Chief and Lead Correspondent for the Norwegian network TV 2. He spent years reporting from inside Russia and was detained six times while covering the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. Show Notes: Øystein Bogen (@oysteinbogen)Gulnoza Said (@gulnozas)8:34 The Wall Street Journal’s reporting on conditions inside Lefortovo prison 18:15 The Committee to Protect Journalists’ research on attacks on reporters in Russia 32:50 Evan Gershkovich’s Wall Street Journal reporting and how to support his case33:10 NYU’s American Journalism Online ProgramMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)Music: “The Shadow Collectors Daughter” by “Night Drift” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/the-shadow-collectors-daughter (License code: LRY4QBATMUIF3UKU)

On Thursday, March 30, a New York grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump over hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. While the charges remain secret, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will likely argue that Trump falsified business records and that the hush money payments amounted to an illegal contribution to his presidential campaign. The alleged indictment raises important questions about efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election and the rule of law. To unpack the developments, we have Karen Friedman Agnifilo. Karen has seen these types of cases up close as the former Manhattan Chief Assistant District Attorney. While there, she helped oversee the office’s 500 lawyers, 700 staff, and nearly 80,000 cases each year. Show Notes:  Karen F. Agnifilo (@KFAlegal)Just Security’s Chronology in Trump-Cohen Hush Money InvestigationJust Security’s Survey of Past New York Felony Prosecutions for Falsifying Business RecordsJust security’s Survey of Past Criminal Prosecutions for Covert Payments to Benefit a Political CampaignMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)

Last week in a Boston courtroom, a jury found the mayor of a small town in southwest Haiti liable of killing one man and torturing and trying to kill two others. The plaintiffs – David Boniface, Nissandère Martyr, and Juders Ysemé – spent a decade trying to hold Jean Morose Viliena accountable. They filed criminal cases in Haiti and even asked the United Nations for help. But nothing worked. Until now. The determined victims and their creative lawyers used a U.S. human rights law, the Torture Victims Protection Act, to finally find justice. The case provides a blueprint for victims to hold abusers accountable when every other option has failed.  Joining us to understand this case are two of the lawyers who made it happen. Daniel McLaughlin and Ela Matthews are attorneys at the Center for Justice & Accountability, a nonprofit organization that uses the law to fight human rights abuses. Show Notes: Ela Matthews (@elamatthews01)Daniel McLaughlin (@DMcLaughlinSF)Center for Justice & Accountability’s press release on the trial U.S. Department of Justice’s press release on Viliena’s arrest for immigration fraud Just Security’s Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) archive8:45 Editor’s Note: Viliena was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice but arrested by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 22:00 NYU’s American Journalism Online ProgramMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)Music: “Big Dreams” by Simon Folwar from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/big-dreams (License code: RR993UDZVLULFLTG)

On Friday, March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court announced that it had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights. The Court said it had “reasonable grounds to believe” that Putin was responsible for unlawfully transferring and unlawfully deporting children from occupied Ukrainian territory into Russia. The arrest warrants are a major legal and diplomatic development in Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine. To discuss what the arrest warrants mean, we have Rebecca Hamilton, a law professor at American University and a member of Just Security’s Editorial Board. She has seen these issues firsthand as a former prosecutor at the Court.  Show Notes: Rebecca Hamilton (@bechamilton) Rebecca’s Just Security article analyzing the Putin arrest warrantThe International Criminal Court’s press release announcing the arrest warrantsYale University Humanitarian Research Lab and U.S. State Department study on the deportation of Ukrainian children Music: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)Music: “Broken” by David Bullard from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/david-bullard/broken (License code: OSC7K3LCPSGXISVI)

Two years after the January 6th attack, the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers – two of the groups that stormed the Capitol and tried to overturn an election – are on a mission. This time, their goal is more subtle but just as sinister. Although individual Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are on trial for conspiracy and a heap of other crimes, the federal government has been slow to call the groups extremists. In courtrooms, on Twitter, and in media reports the groups are trying to clean up their image, and people are buying it. Today we’re going to explore how the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers use propaganda – calling themselves a “drinking club,” “patriots,” and “constitutionalists” – to control their own narrative and hide their violent, extremist views. Calling out these lies, and understanding how they work, is key to holding the groups accountable for the January 6th attack and exposing their continued messages of hate. Joining us are Meghan Conroy and Jon Lewis. Meghan is a Fellow with the Digital Forensic Research Lab and a former Investigator with the January 6th Committee, where she focused on the role of social media in the Capitol attack. Jon is a Fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, where he studies domestic and homegrown extremism. They wrote a recent Just Security piece analyzing the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers propaganda efforts and why they’ve been successful so far.  Show Notes:  Meghan Conroy (@meghaneconroy)Jon Lewis (@Jon_Lewis27)Meghan and Jon’s Just Security article on the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers’ propaganda efforts 24:25 Mary McCord’s Q&A “What Everyone Needs to Know About Prosecuting Domestic Terrorism” 29:10 Brian Hughes and Cynthia Miller Idriss’ Lawfare article on the evolving landscape of domestic extremism and “mobilizing concepts”30:05 NYU’s American Journalism Online ProgramMusic: “The Parade” by “Hey Pluto!” from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/hey-pluto/the-parade (License code: 36B6ODD7Y6ODZ3BX)Music: “Desert Soul” by Tobias Voight from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/tobias-voigt/desert-soul (License code: RWJXGHZMZEKXIDGT)