Hello friends!  We're back with a new episode. Tune in as Professor Steve Vladeck and Dean Bobby Chesney chat about (1) the fate of Twitter, (2) the national security implications of the election results, (3) a just-released 2016 NSA IG report, (4) the latest GTMO transfer, (5) Bobby's just-published Harvard Law Review piece (concerning two SCOTUS cases last year which touched on the state secrets privilege), (6) Steve's brand-new substack newsletter--One First--exploring all things SCOTUS, and (7) House of the Dragon.

So, it's been a while...but we're back!  And it's time to buy Steve's book on the Supreme Court's Shadow Docket: tinyurl.com/shadowdocket

Meanwhile, in today's episode, we'll review the ongoing Mar-a-Lago documents litigation, the Jan. 6 Committee's subpoena to ex-president Donald Trump, the Biden Administration's new policy memorandum on lethal force outside areas of active hostilities, the Justice Department's new update to its state secrets privilege process policy, the new executive order on handling of EU citizen data in the context of American intelligence gathering, Steve's latest litigation developments, and did we mention you can pre-order Steve's book at tinyurl.com/shadowdocket???  Or at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Docket-Supreme-Undermine-Republic/dp/1541602633/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=.

Hello, and welcome back to the National Security Law Podcast, with co-hosts Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck! In this episode, we dig into the latest filings in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents/presidential records litigation, emphasizing the mounting reasons to believe that the first charges we might see in relation to all of this will involve not the underlying questions about unlawful retention of presidential records or national defense information, but "investigative offenses" such as obstruction of justice.  We also touch on "Nashiri Day," explaining what that anniversary signifies, as well as a bit on the recent airstrikes conducted by US forces in Syria--against weapons bunkers associated with an Iran-backed group that had earlier launched rockets at a US facility in Syria.

After just one week, incredibly, we are back!  And we're joined by two of our fantastic Texas Law students.  Ryan Brown and Adam Goodrum won the right to guest host at last year's public-interest auction at Texas Law, and as it happens they signed up for the episode coinciding with the unsealing of the now-famous Mar-a-Lago search warrant!

If you are itching for a nearly line-by-line breakdown of the three criminal statutes mentioned in the search warrant application (as well as a key statute that is not mentioned), this is the show for you.  And if you also might be interested in a painfully-long discussion of the complexities that arise when a president acts contrary to an existing executive order, without actually amending or otherwise altering that executive order, well this is your lucky day!

Well, the original idea was to have a short episode about the strike that killed al Zawahiri, and to recap the D.C. Circuit's Larabee ruling.  But then just before showtime, we learned of the FBI executing a warrant at Mar-a-Lago, not to mention an avalanche of awfully-inflammatory commentary about the significance of this event.  Between that and the Mets on a hot streak, we ended up with a lot to discuss!  Tune in for all the classic hits, such as: What is the legal significance of a formal surrender agreement in relation to the domestic law effect of a Declaration of War?

And we're back, with yet another interminable window of extemporaneous frivolity at the front end of what otherwise is a somewhat serious show about the latest national security law developments and debates (seriously). Listen up as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss Russia's denial of combatant immunity to foreign fighters in Ukraine (including some Americans), how this pertains to mercenary status, how it compares to US policies on al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, how this in turn relates to the Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi plea deal at GTMO, how speaking of GTMO they transferred Gul to Afghanistan, and hey speaking of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) there was a capture operation in Syria that seems like it was led by US SOF but who knows who now holds the detainee let alone what legal framework applies and hey maybe it was France because it seems like they've got their own Le GWOT going in the Sahel to include drone strikes taking out several dozen guys on motorcycles plus they also had a capture operation, and [...catching my breath...] meanwhile Steve lost a case about court-appointed prosecutors but maybe that's not the last word because that dissent made some good points.  [EXHALE]

And...we're back, and in less than a month, remarkably!  Tune in as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss (1) the latest seditious conspiracy indictment arising out of January 6th, (2) the Navarro contempt of Congress charge, (3) the latest developments in the lawsuits challenging the Texas and Florida social media content-moderation laws, and (4) enforcement of Commerce Department licensing rules designed to prevent certain US-made aircraft from being taken to Russia (or Belarus) and the way this resulted in what ultimately will be a $400m loss for Roman Abramovich.  That, plus more aimless Mets and Star Wars chit-chat than any reasonable person possible could want....

Some of y'all were wondering if the show was done-for now that co-host Bobby Chesney has been named the next dean of the University of Texas School of Law.  But as it turns out, the main impact of that on the show probably will be no more and no less than to take the level of preparation that he and co-host Steve Vladeck put into things to new lows!

All of which is a long-winded way of saying: we're back with a fresh episode, this time focused on (1) discussion of the leak(s) associated with the Supreme Court's Dobbs case and (2) a review of what a war-crimes analysis might entail as applied to operation Russia's GRU conducted to shut down Ukraine's grid during the period after the occupation of Crimea but before the outbreak of the current invasion!

Ok, there's also a preposterously detailed discussion (in the form of a song-to-song competition) of the relative merits of various Indigo Girls albums.  Seriously?  Seriously.

Ok, ok, it's been a full month since the last episode.  But good things come to those who wait!  We are back, and hope you'll tune in as co-hosts Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck discuss the latest in national security legal news, including:

The questions associated with neutrality and co-belligerency (and especially "qualified neutrality") in relation to US and allied support to Ukraine in the Ukraine-Russia War

The Supreme Court's decision to grant a stay in Lloyd Austin v. U.S. Navy SEALS 1-26, in relation to a district court order (based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act) barring the Navy from enforcing its policy precluding deployment of personnel who refuse COVID vaccination)

Another GTMO detainee (Hassan bin Attash of Yemen) cleared for release

A guilty verdict against an Islamic State member (a formerly-British citizen who was part of the quartet known as "the Beatles") charged with involvement in the horrific abuse of captives

And, yes, lots and lots of crowing over the early-season success of the Mets, along with other frivolity!

What a treat we have for you this week!  Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen, head of DOJ's National Security Division, sits down with co-hosts Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck to talk about a wide range of NSD-related topics:

the origins of NSD

the Section 702 sunset next year

indictments against Russian hackers

sanctions enforcement

focusing on China's commercial espionage and transnational repression

the continuing international terrorism threat

the growing domestic terrorism threat