The National Security Law Podcast

Welcome to part 1 of a 2-part deep-dive series concerning FISA!  In this episode, Professors Chesney and Vladeck begin with the history and context leading up to the creation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and then explain the central features of the statute and some of the key issues that arose during its first two decades.  Part 2 (episode 97), which carries the story forw...

Welcome to the latest episode of the National Security Law Podcast!  We’re back with our usual mix of discussion and debate about the most-interesting legal developments relating to national security over the past week. And while most such episodes survey many issues, this week we are drilling down on two stories: First, we’ve got military commission activity: After a very slow week on...

It’s a late-night, mid-week episode of the National Security Law Podcast! We’ve got: Senator Kaine’s letter to DOD raising questions about the theory of collective self-defense as applied in the  domestic  law context, in relation to the AUMF and Article II. Speaking of the AUMF, it’s the 17th anniversary of the opening of overt US military engagement in Afghanistan. Doe v....

Spotted: A rare episode of the National Security Law Podcast clocking in at  under  one hour!  And yet there was much to discuss, including: T-Shirts!!!! At long last, the much-anticipated NSL Podcast t-shirts are for sale.  All profits go to charity (ALS Texas, to be exact; they support patients and research for victims of ALS).  Start shopping now! Detainee Stuff: We’ve got an all-too-pred...

And we’re back!  Tonight’s episode features: SCOTUS preview: though many have missed it, SCOTUS is in fact back in session very soon, and we have a preview of security-related petitions and some early grants as well. Trumplandia: Well, Rod Rosenstein sure was the subject of loads of speculation this week, and it soon became quite clear that it is time for…a refresher regarding th...

There’s no shortage of news this week, but comparatively little of it is national security law news, and so we are back with a fresh deep dive episode.  For better or worse, it’s our longest episode yet (topping out a bit over 1:20). So find a comfy spot, pop in the headphones, and prepare to dive deep, deep, deep into the history of military commissions in the United States!  Get read...

Well, would you look at that: your hosts are back in town at the same time at last, and they’ve got a fresh episode covering some of the major national security legal developments of the past couple of weeks!  We’ve got: A Doe v. Mattis update, naturally A new judge for the 9/11 prosecution, for now (but not a year from now, incredibly enough) New CMCR judges Nothing at all happening w...

And we are back…with a second-consecutive deep-dive episode.  This week, Professors Chesney and Vladeck explore the iconic 1952 decision of the Supreme Court in  Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer , better known as the “Steel Seizure Case.”  It’s an all-time classic regarding the separation of powers in general and war-related powers in particular (not to mention con...

We are back this week with a new “deep dive” episode, this time focused on the issues raised by the U.S. government’s use of lethal force against Anwar al-Awlaki–a U.S. citizen who became a key figure associated with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.  Tune in for a detailed backgrounder covering: the unsuccessful attempt by al-Awlaki’s father to obtain ex ante injunc...

And we’re back, with much to discuss in the wacky world of national security law.  Join Professors Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney as they wrestle with: A *huge* ruling by Judge Pohl in the Military Commission 9/11 prosecution, barring the government from using at trial statements made by the defendants at GTMO to FBI “clean team” interrogators (in what amounts to a CIPA-style sa...

We are back with review and analysis of the latest national security law developments, hot on the heels of last week’s deep-dive episode.  We’ll have another deep dive soon, but for now it’s back to some old chestnuts. We’ve got: Doe v. Mattis —  another delay to report, and some further speculation about the role that passports might be playing in the negotiation. al...

It had to happen sooner or later: an actual slow week for national security law!  Ugh!  Well, time to make lemonade from the lemons.  A slow week in NSL news means that we can take a run at a format that we originally expected to be a mainstay for the show: a deep-dive into a single significant development. In this case, we’re going back to June 28, 2004, and the Supreme Court’s decisi...

We are very excited to have a special guest this week: the one and only Amy Jeffress !   Join us as Amy, Steve, and Bobby discuss: The cyber provisions in the just-passed NDAA Doe v. Mattis (of course!) The Mueller investigation Rudy and the conspiracy/collusion comment Legislating to speak out against NATO withdrawal? FARA practice 3-D guns, the Arms Export Control Act, ITAR, and USML (no, that&#...

Welcome to the latest National Security Law Podcast episode.  Though Steve and Bobby both have been moonlighting ( here is Steve on the Lawfare Podcast and here’s  Bobby on the Cyber Law Podcast), there’s no place like home, and both are back in the studio this morning to recount and debate the latest national security legal developments.  This week we’ve got: The Carter Page FIS...

Another busy week for the National Security Law Podcast!  Buckle up for: “The Press Conference” and its aftermath – Your co-hosts agree that it was a fiasco, but they disagree sharply on whether administration officials should resign because of it.  Tune in for an extended discussion of the situation involving Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, in particular. Russia ind...

We’re back after a one-week layoff!  No SCOTUS announcement yet, alas, but we do have this to offer: Doe v. Mattis and the upcoming hearing on the government’s plan to release Doe in Syria The military commissions and the retirement of Judge Spath Over in the civilian court system, Uzair Paracha, convicted back in 2005, just won a motion for a new trial based on newly-discovered eviden...

Hot on the heels of the Kennedy retirement announcement, we’ve got our special Supreme Court finale episode!  This is the show for you if you would enjoy detailed and amicable debate and discussion concerning: the consequences of Kennedy’s retirement for national security and other issues; what the ideological range might be for the next nominee; the Carpenter decision, its nuances, an...

Before getting into the run of this week’s show: Congratulations to Steve and Karen on the birth of their daughter!!! Meanwhile, in the wild wacky world of national security law, what a week it was.  We’ve got: Zaidan v. Trump – a remarkable district court refusing to dismiss the constitutional claims brought by a US citizen who alleges that he has been placed, erroneously, on th...

Ok, Steve and Bobby are not actually in Singapore (we sent Dennis Rodman instead). As usual, they’re up on the 6th floor at Texas Law, bringing you the following this week: Doe v. Mattis – Because we can’t go a week without some fascinating development in this case.  This time, it was the surprise announcement last Wednesday that DOD wants to go ahead and release him after all, b...

Hello friends, and welcome back to the latest episode!  Last week was a bit quiet, but things are heating up.  This week we review and debate: War Powers:  This week saw the release of the Office of Legal Counsel’s memorandum  on the U.S. airstrikes on Syrian military targets in April 2018.  We explain what issue it addressed, situate it in context with earlier war power debates, and wrestle...

This week on the show: Another big win for FBI & DOJ in a terrorism prosecution, as a Maryland man gets 35 years for going to Somalia and becoming an unprivileged participant in hostilities for al Shabaab. Speaking of DOJ wins: they also picked up a five-year sentence (plus massive restitution) for a Canadian man whom Russia’s FSB hired to help with the massive Yahoo! hack a few years ag...

Never a slow week in this business… This week we’ve got breakdowns and debates over some familiar topics: Military Commissions: The convoluted proceedings in the al-Nashiri prosecution became a bit less tangled this week, as the government backed off its attempt to preclude intervention by a pair of al-Nashiri’s erstwhile attorneys.  Are we any closer to resolving the overall set...

Spring classes may be over, but national security legal news hasn’t slowed down one bit.  This week, Professors Chesney and Vladeck wrestle with the following: The D.C. Circuit ruling in Doe v. Mattis (forbidding the government from transferring him unless and until the government wins on the merits in the underlying habeas case).  How did the majority parse the doctrine of transfers, why di...

Welcome back to the National Security Law Podcast!  This week, Professors Vladeck and Chesney discuss and debate the following: Doe v. Mattis : The D.C. Circuit has affirmed the injunction barring the government from turning John Doe over to Saudi Arabia.  We don’t have their opinion yet, but we have  ours , and we don’t let lack of access to the court’s explanation stop us from...

No shortage of topics this week. Join us as Professors Chesney and Vladeck debate and discuss: United States v. al-Hawsawi , in which Judge Pohl rules that a military commission prosecution can proceed against an accused 9/11 co-conspirator based on conduct that facilitated (and thus occurred prior to the culmination of) the 9/11 attacks.  What is the measure of when “hostilities” begi...