Russian and Chinese leaders understand that they’re unlikely to win a shooting war with the United States, but they have other ways to challenge Western interests, turning our greatest strengths—open societies, dominance of technology on Earth and in space, and military innovation—into weaknesses.
There is some point at which the president’s conduct is so egregious that the House has no choice under the Constitution but to begin impeachment proceedings. The only question is where to draw the line.
Your weekly summary of everything on the site.
Should the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act be modified so that hacking victims can respond in self-defense outside their own networks? That’s the aim of the new ACDC Act bill, introduced June 13. Here’s what you need to know.
The Trump administration is asserting a new and extreme theory of executive privilege, under which the executive branch has absolute constitutional authority to protect and further the president’s constitutional authority to assert that privilege.
The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has released an opinion supporting the Treasury Department's refusal to comply with a congressional request for President Trump's tax returns. The OLC opinion can be read here and below.
And we are back, after a one-week hiatus, with loads of national security law debate and discussion, not to mention some Grade B frivolity!
On tap for Professors Vladeck and Chesney:
The fight over U.S. involvement in Yemen is shifting to new legal terrain: the president’s authority to engage in arms sales.
Lawfare’s daily roundup of national security news and opinion
Lawfare’s daily roundup of national security news and opinion
Ukrainians want membership, but obstacles abound.
The U.S. and its allies have embraced a deterrence-based approach combined with a high degree of ambiguity regarding questions of law and policy in cyberspace. But this ambiguity undermines attempts to develop clear binding norms for state conduct in cyberspace.
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will host a hearing entitled "The National Security Challenge of Artificial Intelligence, Manipulated Media, and ‘Deepfakes’" at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday. A video of the hearing is available below.
Shane is off gallivanting elsewhere, so we wiped our bitter tears and did a show without him. Sophia Yan—yes, that Sophia Yan—phoned in from a Chinese airport on her way to Hong Kong to talk about ongoing protests and violence in that city. Kamala Harris urged the indictment of President Trump after he leaves office. And Pete Buttigieg gave a foreign policy speech.
A presidential candidate’s promising a law enforcement outcome against an individual should be unacceptable—even to those who fervently wish to see Donald Trump in the defendant’s chair in federal court.
Audio from the Hewlett Foundation’s 2019 conference on cyber issues in national security, tech and academia.
Lawfare’s daily roundup of national security news and opinion
On June 11, the House Armed Services Committee released its draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2020 fiscal year (H.R. 2500). The committee’s summary states that the proposed bill focuses on addressing threats to the United States by authorizing a defense system that is “inclusive, accountable, and responsible in the management of its resources.” The proposal authorizes defense spending up to $733 billion dollars.
The Department of Justice has informed the House Oversight and Reform Committee that President Trump has exerted executive privilege over certain documents subpoenaed by the committee regarding the administration's decision to include a question about U.S. citizenship in the 2020 census. The letter can be read here and below.
A new measure makes changes that increase the power of House committees to pursue enforcement of additional subpoenas.