And we're back, with co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney breaking down the latest national security law news along with much else.  This week the spotlight is on the D.C. Circuit's en banc decision in al Hela, which grapples with the applicability of the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause (in both its procedural and substantive aspects) to GTMO detainees.  We've also got an update on the Badilla contractor immunity case (in which Steve plays a role as counsel to the plaintiffs), some Shadow Docket developments, and notes on the prosecutorial aspects of Cold War II.

Good morning!  Episode 236 covers:

The Trump Indictment

The Biden Administration's Executive Order on Abusive Commercial Spyware

A CENTCOM strike against an IS target in Syria

The future of private prosecutors?

We're back with a Spring Break edition, featuring:

ICC cases emerging against Russian defendants for (1) removing children from Ukraine to Russia and (2) attacking civilian infrastructure

A UK drone strike in Syria, a US drone strike in Yemen, and a US drone struck (by the Russians)

Renewal of Section 702 and the Rep. LaHood story

TikTok, CFIUS, and the RESTRICT Act

Another GTMO transfer

Possible repeal of the 2002 and 1991 Iraq AUMFs

And an early start to the annual Mets demoralization process.

Are you ready for a DEEP DIVE?  We've got an extended conversation today explaining the stakes and anticipating the outcomes in two cases argued in front of SCOTUS this week:  Google v. Gonzalez and Twitter v. Taamneh.  The cases present questions about the scope of civil liability under the Anti-Terrorism Act in the aiding-and-abetting context (as applied to the use of social media platforms by terrorist groups) and the proper interpretation of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and its protection of such platforms.

We are delighted this week to feature two Texas Law students -- Sam Libby and Alex Rigby -- who earned the chance to co-host the show with us thanks to their generosity supporting the Texas Law Fellowships program (a charitable endeavor that supports Texas Law students doing summer public interest work).  Join us as we talk about just how it is that Prime Minister Trudeau can be involved in orders that result in American F-22s taking out a UFO, a largely-unremarked material support prosecution that twenty years ago very well could have resulted in a high-profile dispute over military detention of a US citizen, loads of Super Bowl analysis, and much more!  And, yes, lots of questions posed to ChatGPT!

After a week with no electricity, Professors Vladeck and Chesney are back with the latest in national security law news.  Tune in for discussions of:

the law (or lack thereof) when it comes to balloons, altitude, and aerial espionage

sanctions on the Wagner Group and also on various Russians associated with ransomware

FBI and DOJ disrupting the Hive ransomware group

Majid Khan transferred from GTMO to ... Belize?

Ted Olson on the military commissions process

Finally, you'll want to watch SNL's "HBO Mario Kart": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiIRlg4Xr5w

What's this, a one-week turnaround between shows?  Will wonders never cease? In a throwback to the days of this being a weekly show, your co-hosts Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck are back on a quick turnaround in order to debate and discuss:

A new seditious conspiracy conviction arising out of Jan. 6

A New York State "material support" prosecution (State v. el Faisal)

Various SCOTUS updates

Any classified documents that we might have found when cleaning up the ol' office

The shocking arrest of the former FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division at FBI's NY Field Office on IEEPA (and other) charges relating to secret work for a Russian oligarch....oof.

And, as always, some frivolity.

Wouldn't want you to be misled by the episode number (though we do actually foreshadow some future Section 230 coverage in light of an upcoming pair of SCOTUS cases)!  At any rate: tune in as Professors Chesney and Vladeck discuss what is and isn't similar about the Trump and Biden classified documents scenarios; the relative authority of the President and Congress under the Arms Export Control Act (in light of the potential sale of F16s to Turkey); the 21st anniversary of GTMO; the indictment of a Chinese man who harassed a fellow student at the Berklee School of Music based on the victim's pro-democracy, pro-freedom speech; and of course no small amount of frivolity!

Happy 2023 y'all!  We are off to a quick start this year.  Tune in as Professors Vladeck and Chesney discuss recent developments, including:

The Supreme Court's "Title 42"-related action in Arizona v. Mayorkas

Highlights from the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year '23 (including a National Guard reform that did not make it, and a newly-clarified authorization for Cyber Command that did)

Central Command's year-end summary of its counter-ISIS operations in Syria and Iraq in 2022 (including remarkable statistics on the scale of detention administered by both Iraq and the SDF)

Call for your help: we want suggestions for statutes, cases, or events  (including ones from long ago, not just recent events) that you'd like us to explore in future episodes (we are going to add a recurring deep-dive segment)

All that, plus ample frivolity.

Holiday edition!  Tune in as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss the rapid demise of the attempt by Donald Trump's lawyers to use Executive Privilege in relation to the classified documents found at Mar a Lago, the arrival in the US of a former Libyan intelligence officer charged with a key role in the horrific bombing of Pan Am 103 in 1988, the arrival in the US of a Mauritanian man charged with several terrorist attacks in Mali, the arrival in the US of erstwhile crypto exchange entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried to face charges stemming from that total dumpster fire.  And, naturally, an indefensible number of detours, digressions, and other forays into frivolity!