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.

The National Security Law Podcast

Episode 219: And the Podcast Host-Designate Is …

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!

Episode 218: From 28(j) to Enterprise-J

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

Episode 217: Talking With Matt Olsen About DOJ National Security Division

And we're back! Tune in as Professors Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck discuss and debate: ICC jurisdiction over war crimes on Ukraine's territory Limits on sharing tactical intel and arms? The Neutrality Act and its implications for those interested in going to Ukraine to fight The Supreme Court's twin State Secrets Privilege rulings last week (Zubayda, Fazaga) Qhatani transferred out of GTMO A pair of recent rulings against the Navy on its COVID vaccination policy The House Foreign Affairs Committee's AUMF hearing All that, plus. what can only be described as perfunctory frivolity :)

Episode 216: This Podcast Does Not Constitute Legal Advice

We are back with a fresh episode, hot on the heels of Russia's latest incursion into Ukraine. Tune in as we survey some of the legal dimensions to this latest development (including discussion of the impact of diplomatic recognition on UN Charter Article 2(4)), as well as the various sanctions frameworks that are now in play.  We also check in on an important district court ruling in the civil suit against former President Trump in relation to the January 6 insurrection, exploring its First Amendment/Brandenburg doctrine aspects.  As for frivolity?  A bit random this time, even for these guys: we've got the Juwan Howard situation following the Michigan-Wisconsin game, and reviews of some of the key rides at Disneyland. Because...well, it's the frivolity segment, after all!

Episode 215: Rhyming or Outright Repeating?

We are back, and even though one of us apparently cannot work this new tech called a "calendar," we're excited to bring a shorter-than-usual episode without having a whole month go by! Tune in as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss and debate: The Biden Administration's change of position on the availability of coerced statements for use in pre-trial proceedings in military commissions The news of the capture, repatriation to the United States, and federal court prosecution of a woman from Kansas who apparently had traveled to Syria to take up arms on behalf of ISIS--and the questions this raises about how long she was held pre-transfer, and in whose custody Civil suits against private military contractors, the varied legal obstacles they face, and updates on some current lawsuits in which Steve is involved--and interesting questions they raise, such as the precise scope of the "combat activities" limitation All that, plus a grab-bag of frivolity including the new Netflix movie based on Robert Harris's Munich book, and of course NFL sportsball happenings!

Episode 214: What Month Is This Anyway?

Seeing as how 2022 is well underway, it's probably about time we produced a new episode!  Tune in for co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney as they discuss and debate: The various international and domestic law questions that might arise in that Russia (further) invades Ukraine The oral argument in Thompson v. Trump (especially the presidential immunity question) The who-owns-the-privilege question in Trump v. Thompson (not a typo) The seditious conspiracy indictment against Oath Keepers leaders What federal statutes have to say about a scenario in which the President might confer authority on a private armed group to "enforce" the law Believe it or not, a judicial change in a military commission More GTMO detainees approved (by Periodic Review Board) for transfer out (though no one actually seems to be leaving) All that plus the usual frivolity, this time featuring the classic combination of (1) Jim Carrey films and (2) NFL playoffs.

Episode 213: Most Likely to Engage in a Seditious Conspiracy

Welcome to our official Holiday Office Party, where we mainly just hope things will go smoother than they did for the good people of Nakatomi Corporation in 1988! In this episode, co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss: The state of the criminal contempt of Congress proceedings against Steve Bannon and Mark Meadows The D.C. Circuit's ruling refusing to assert post-presidential decision-making authority to Donald Trump in relation to the records of his presidency held by NARA The SCOTUS cert. grant in Torres (does Congress under its power to raise and support the armed forces have authority to abrogate state sovereign immunity) The SCOTUS cert. denial in Begani The 10th Circuit's ruling in Muhtorov (upholding the Section 702 FISA framework against various challenges) Passage of the NDAA for Fiscal Year '22 All that, plus book recommendations for your holiday shopping convenience, and a Q&A regarding the works of the great Mo Willems (you know: Pigeon, Elephant and Piggie, and Knuffle Bunny).

Episode 212: Nakatomi Plaza Holiday Office Party Edition

Ah, well, that took a bit longer than expected!  We promise we don't mean to let this become a quarterly show, or even a monthly.  Too much national security law for that! In today's episode, we discuss: Haroon Gul's victory in a GTMO habeas case (and what it may or may not mean for the bigger picture) Majid Kahn's sentencing testimony (and the clemency letter that the majority of the panel subsequently issued) The SCOTUS decision to deny cert. in ACLU's attempt to establish a constitutional right of public access to at least some FISC opinions (and the Gorsuch-Sotomayor dissent) The SCOTUS oral argument in Fagaza, raising both statutory interpretation questions about FISA (and, possibly, constitutional questions about the State Secrets Privilege) Today's DOJ announcement about Poland's arrest (and America's extradition request concerning) a Ukrainian national associated with the REvil ransomware Kaseya campaign The conviction (for economic espionage) of a Chinese MSS official who attempted to get an American GE employee to spill secrets (and the extradition of the defendant from Belgium, where he thought he was going to take delivery of stolen information) And, of course, some disorganized frivolity!

Episode 211: Behold, our Q4 episode

What's that?  A new episode?  What have these guys been doing all month... Well, whatever they've been doing all September since Episode 209, Professors Vladeck and Chesney are back at last with a new episode.  Tune in as they discuss and debate: The en banc D.C. Circuit oral argument in al Hela (asking, inter alia, whether the Due Process Clause applies at GTMO) A preview of the upcoming SCOTUS arguments relating to the State Secrets Privilege The Dorfman/Naylor/Isikoff article on CIA planning relating to Assange and Wikileaks A National Security Division roundup noting the sudden wind-up of the Huawei CFO case and the new material support case against a Canadian Islamic State fighter previously held by the SDF in Syria All that, plus no small amount of frivolity (including a much-too-long endorsement of the greatness that is Joe Abercrombie).

Episode 210: The Witness Who Became a Meme

This week on the National Security Law Podcast, we mark 20 years since the 9/11 attacks.  Tune in as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney share their views on the major legal developments unleashed by that awful day, in a broad retrospective on the era.

Episode 209: The 20th Anniversary of 9/11

In this week's episode, we focus on the unfolding situation in Afghanistan.

Episode 208: Afghanistan

It's been a long summer break for the podcast, but we're back! Tune in today as Professors Chesney and Vladeck discuss and debate: AUMF reform prospects (2001 AUMF in particular) Ongoing uncertainty as to the fate of the Presidential Policy Guidance re use of lethal force outside areas of active hostilities Litigation exploring whether a unanimous panel should be required in courts-martial A semi-deep dive into Jacobson, the 1905 Supreme Court case that upheld a local mandatory vaccination order (targeting smallpox) in the face of what we would today describe as a substantive due process fundamental rights/liberty claim. How about that CDC rent-moratorium extension? And, yes, we lament the apparent collapse of the Mets, while also recommending some good books and podcasts!

Episode 207: Pearls Are In the Eye of the Beholder

[Updated to fix the audio issue with the original file...though I have to admit, it was very entertaining to hear the hosts speaking an octave too low!)  We're back with another round of discussion and debate featuring co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney, working through the latest national security law developments. Tune in for: The end of the decade-long run of General Mark Martins as Chief Prosecutor at GTMO The interagency debate within the Biden Administration regarding whether to concede that the Due Process Clause applies to GTMO detainees (either in the habeas context or more broadly), in connection with the al-Hela litigation currently pending before the en banc D.C. Circuit Interstate deployments (without federalization) of state national guard forces, and the state-level separation-of-powers issues arguably raised by private funding of NG activities OLC's opinion on the removal power New life for the US effort to extradite Julian Assange from the UK Donald Trump attempting to invoke the First Amendment as the basis for a civil action challenging the actions of (private) social-media companies Brief notes on the parallel between the so-far-unsuccessful efforts to deter both attacks on US forces in Iraq and ransomware attacks emanating from Russia And as always, there's much frivolity both at the start and the finish!

Episode 206: This Podcast Is Not a State Actor

We're back, with one slightly-older co-host and another co-host who is ready to drive across the country!  Tune in for discussion and debate relating to: The domestic and international law aspects of the Biden administration's decision to conduct airstrikes against Kata'ib Hezbollah targets in Syria and Iraq The ongoing Biden administration internal debate over which rules should govern the use of lethal force in locations other than Syria and Iraq The Supreme Court's denial of cert. concerning warrantless searches of electronic devices at the border (leaving in place a significant circuit split, oddly) The Supreme Court's denial of cert. in a case involving torture claims against a contractor associated with the Abu Ghraib prison The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruling in Begani concerning court-martial jurisdiction over former servicemembers Sentencing for a US translator who became a spy for Hezbollah, providing classified information including the identity of human sources linked to the attack that killed Iran's Suleimani Sentencing for a US person convicted of teaching the making of explosives for purposes of a federal crime of violence Seizure of websites used by Kata'ib Hezbollah and also by an IRGC-affiliated Iranian media group All that, plus the MLB crackdown on scuffed balls and ... Steve's Excellent Cross-Country Road Trip!

Episode 205: Road Trip!

Unpacking the Legal Issues Behind the Headlines

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The National Security Law Podcast

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