I have a long review in the New Republic of Mark Mazzetti’s excellent new book, The Way of the Knife. The first half of the review simply summarizes the book, the main point of which is to demonstrate how … Read more »
Now that the United States has acknowledged – with a modest level of confidence – that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against the rebels, many press articles are asking whether (or arguing that) the United States should consider … Read more »
Following up on Wells’ post, I increasingly think that the shift in drone authorities from CIA to DOD first reported by Dan Klaidman might not amount to much in substance, and that any proposed changes face many hurdles in … Read more »
The more I reflect on last week’s drone contretemps–and what effect the efforts of Senator Paul and his followers has had / may still have on U.S. policy–the more I have a profound and distressing sense of déjà vu. After … Read more »
First, I objected to the large mischaracterizations in Senator Paul’s remarks, and think the ones about our targeting practices abroad were especially damaging. But there is no doubt that Senator Paul succeeded wildly in focusing public (and congressional) attention on … Read more »
In writing my testimony for today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on drones and targeted killing of U.S. citizens overseas, I found myself writing a more complete explication of the essential legal rationale underlying the administration’s position on the subject than … Read more »
Recent events have accelerated a discussion focused around creating a special court to oversee the execution of targeted killings against suspected terrorists. Some Lawfare contributors have weighed in on the idea (see here for Steve’s argument against such a court, … Read more »
Senator Feinstein issued the following press release today:
The administration has publicly described—including now in an unclassified white paper—the legality and boundaries of targeted killing of terrorists, though details remain classified. The secrecy of the program has made it difficult
I’m pleased to report that a group of former Obama Administration lawyers (including yours truly) has just submitted to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence a letter expressing our strong support for John Brennan’s nomination to be Director of the … Read more »
As readers probably already know, the Senate ended an otherwise largely legislation-light 2012 by approving a controversial five-year extension of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA), which the House had previously passed in September. President Obama signed the reauthorization … Read more »
Politico reports that Senate and House negotiators have reached an agreement on the NDAA, with votes in both houses expected later this week…and then, on to the White House. The full text is available here. As for the highlights, … Read more »
Well, we know it’s long—more than 6,000 pages long. We know it’s critical. And we know it was approved on a 9-to-6 vote. Here’s the statement by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on … Read more »
Below the fold, I’m pasting in a reply by Jon Hafetz from Seton Hall to last Friday’s post by Marty Lederman and me on the new Feinstein Amendment and the military detention of non-citizens apprehended within the United States–which was … Read more »
Steve and Marty make what seem to me very valid legal arguments in response to Jonathan Hafetz’s post on Opinio Juris, in which Jonathan argues that the Feinstein Amendment’s principal effect would be to embed citizenship-based distinctions (in this … Read more »
As Wells and Steve noted last week, the Senate approved the “Feinstein Amendment” to the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Amendment, if enacted, would impose a clear statement rule for the detention of U.S. citizens and … Read more »
As readers know, last Thursday the Senate approved Senator Feinstein’s amendment to the NDAA, regarding the domestic detention of citizens and lawful permanent residents.
That wasn’t all. Now, after further debating and voting, the Senate’s updated bill also conditions the … Read more »
Wells is exactly right–and Senators Levin and Graham are exactly wrong–about the implications of last night’s Senate vote approving Senator Feinstein’s amendment to the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act. Wells linked to the amendment, but here is the relevant … Read more »
[Updated 3:08 p.m] Last night, the Senate approved Senator Dianne Feinstein’s amendment (No. 3018) to the pending NDAA bill, regarding the military detention of citizens and lawful permanent residents. The vote was 67-29.
As Lawfarers well know by now, the … Read more »
You want ‘em? We got ‘em.
Here are some more counterterrorism-relevant amendments to the Senate’s version of NDAA 2013—all offered by Senator Sessions: Nos. 3009 (conditioning the availability of certain funds for the Executive Office of the President on prior … Read more »
Lots of news coverage this morning about this GAO report, released yesterday by Senator Dianne Feinstein, on housing Guantanamo detainees in the United States. Here’s Spencer Ackerman of Wired Danger Room. Here’s the Associated Press. Here’s the executive … Read more »
Apropos of the amendment proposed by Senator Feinstein and others, and tonight’s NDAA discussion in the Senate, here’s a quick review of S. 3254, the NDAA 2013 bill that the Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously approved earlier this year.… Read more »
Senator Dianne Feinstein—along with Senators Lee, Coons, Collins, Paul, Lautenberg, Gillibrand, and Kirk—have introduced this amendment to the current NDAA, now on the Senator floor.
Senator Rand Paul’s rumored detention amendment got me reminiscing about S.2003, better known as the Due Process Guarantee Act (“DPGA”).
Remember this? It was Senator Feinstein’s proposal to clarify that force authorizations and like statutes would not be read so … Read more »
Carrie Cordero, Georgetown’s Director of National Security Studies and a former Justice Department official, writes in with the following account of a recent Cato Institute event (which, ahem, would have been on the Lawfare calendar and the good folks … Read more »
In all the last two days’ coverage of the Obama administration’s targeting program — including this lengthy NYT piece, Dan Klaidman’s book excerpt, and today’s NYT editorial — there’s a remarkable lack of discussion of Congress. (As far … Read more »
I had not seen this statement from Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Carl Levin when I posted the video of Jose Rodriguez’s interview.
Rumor has it that sometime this week (perhaps as early as tomorrow), Congressmen Scott Rigell (R-VA) and Jeff Landry (R-LA) will introduce a bill titled the “Right to Habeas Corpus Act.” In short, the bill would “firmly state that … Read more »
Earlier this week I published a piece on the Foreign Policy page that defended the legal infrastructure for the Obama’s administration’s targeted killing program. At the end I made the following proposal as a way for Congress to help the … Read more »
While the experience is fresh, I thought I’d share some reflections on this morning’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Due Process Guarantee Act. [The SJC hearing page has copies of the witness statements (including my own), and … Read more »
I’ve blogged before about S. 2003, the “Due Process Guarantee Act” introduced late last year by Senator Feinstein, which would amend the Non-Detention Act to provide that
An authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any
By Marty Lederman and Steve Vladeck*
[Cross-posted at OpinioJuris]
Section 1021 of the NDAA and the Laws of War
In our companion post, we explained that section 1021 of the NDAA will not have the dramatic effects that … Read more »
By Marty Lederman and Steve Vladeck*
[Cross-posted at OpinioJuris]
Editorial pages and blogs have been overrun in the past couple of weeks with analyses and speculation about the detainee provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act, which the President … Read more »
In our final installment of NDAA transcripts, we bring you the Senate’s debate on December 15th on the conference report’s detention provisions.
Here are some highlights:
Senators Carl Levin and John McCain tout the strengths of the detention provisions starting … Read more »
Well that was fast… With the ink barely dry on the Senate’s passage of the NDAA, Senator Feinstein yesterday introduced on behalf of herself and 13 Senate colleagues (including Republican Senators Lee, Kirk, and Paul) the “Due Process Guarantee … Read more »
In a prior post surveying the impact of the Senate version of the NDAA bill (currently in conference negotiations), I emphasized that the Feinstein Amendment made clear that the NDAA did not alter, one way or the other, the government’s … Read more »
The Senate passed the NDAA (S. 1867) last night on a 93-7 vote. The seven senators who voted against final passage are:
Senator Feinstein’s amendment, which would have limited applicability of the NDAA’s detention provisions to terrorism suspects captured abroad, was rejected in a 45-55 vote this afternoon. There was a very lengthy debate on the adoption of this amendment yesterday afternoon … Read more »
You can read the edited transcript from the Senate’s debate yesterday on the detention provisions here. Previous coverage is available here and here. This includes debate on the Sessions amendment starting on page 4, the Feinstein amendments starting … Read more »
I missed this before Thanksgiving, I’m afraid, but fortunately, the invaluable Josh Gerstein did not:
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is joining the chorus of Obama administration voices warning against detainee-related language in a pending Senate defense authorization bill.
I had not realized till today that the State Department has not yet gotten around to designated the Haqqani Network to be a Foreign Terrorist Organization (see the current list here). Such a designation would bring to bear, among … Read more »
Further to this post on the President’s letter to Congress (and its significance in light of the War Powers Resolution, or “WPR”), here are two recent and quite post-worthy developments regarding military action in Libya. First up is a letter … Read more »
In anticipation of the growing likelihood of some form of U.S. intervention in Libya, Michael Stransky of the Senate Republican Policy Committee this afternoon circulated an impish collection of Bush-era views by senior Obama administration and congressional Democratic officials “concerning … Read more »
Further to my earlier post on the FY2010 Intelligence Authorization Act, the full text of the bill and the precise details of the compromise among the White House, Senate, and House can be found here (FAS has posted an excerpt … Read more »
Monday, May 20, 2013
As Jack posted yesterday—and as everyone is buzzing about—President Obama will give a major counterterrorism speech on Thursday at the National Defense University. The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Politico all report on the talk, and subjects that the President will likely address.
Speaking of Jack, he noted another of today’s big stories: the Washington Post’s piece on the FBI’s search, a few years… Read more »
