Voting laws have been capturing headlines, and not just in the context of Georgia but with nearly 20 other states considering similar voter restrictive legislation as well. In 2020, some of the biggest national security issues played out in the context of elections. This week, NSLT welcomes Nate Persily, the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, to discuss the role of federal and state governments in elections, the use of new technology, and the implications these laws have...
Apr 08, 2021•44 min
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence has said, “the development of AI will shape the future of power.” AI is coming and coming hard. The meaningful application of law and ethics will help determine whether we maximize the opportunities and minimize and mitigate the risks. Law and ethics will, or could and should, distinguish democratic and American AI from authoritarian applications of AI. Law and ethics will bind like-minded alliances in the AI field and it will help to b...
Apr 01, 2021•45 min
The Georgetown Journal of National Security Law & Policy (JNSLP) hosted it's 2021 annual symposium this week, featuring a keynote discussion with Jim Steinberg, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State. For this week's episode, Jim Steinberg, along with James Feinerman, Professor of Law at Georgetown University, sit down to discuss U.S.-China relations, managing differences, and the ongoing power struggle between both nations. The interview taps Jim Steinberg’s wealth of experience with China t...
Mar 25, 2021•47 min
In partnership with CSIS's Strategic Dialogue on Civic Education as a National Security Imperative, this week's episode features an expert panel of national security lawyers sharing perspectives on why civic education is a national security issue. Why is it important for the American public to understand the role of national security institutions and the rule of law in our democracy? And how does civic education play a role in rebuilding that trust, maximizing security, and strengthening our dem...
Mar 18, 2021•57 min
This week hosts Elisa and Yvette cover the latest topics, from QAnon security clearances and presidential pardons, to FOIA, dealings with China, and Microsoft zero-days. This episode references: - Security Clearance Improvement Act of 2021: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/353/text?r=17&s=1 - Section 230, Communication Decency Act: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/230 - The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/oip/legacy/2014...
Mar 11, 2021•24 min
We are entering into the next epoch of U.S. foreign policy. In this week's episode, host Harvey Rishikoff and guest Dr. John Hamre discuss a handful of critical issues - from industrial competition with China, to the growing polarization of America - and the role national security law will play in this next policy chapter. Dr. John Hamre is president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He notably served as US deputy secretary of defense from 1997 to 1999 and und...
Mar 04, 2021•27 min
Online disinformation affects our national well being. It’s corrosive effect on democracy leads to greater mistrust and skepticism of our institutions. In this week’s episode, host Harvey Rishikof and guest Glenn Gerstell discuss the magnitude of the problem, its long term effects, and what lawyers should be thinking about in an effort to mitigate the problem. Glenn Gerstell is a senior advisor with CSIS’s International Security Program, and formerly served as the general counsel of the NSA. Thi...
Feb 25, 2021•30 min
A recent cyber attack involving SolarWinds software and multiple government agencies is at the center of the current cyber policy debate. This attack, now publicly attributed to Russia, was highly targeted and stayed undetected for months. What does this attack say about America’s readiness to defend against malicious cyber actors? Is this our wake up call? Sean Joyce is Global and US Leader for PwC’s Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Forensics Practice. Previously, Sean was the Chief Trust Officer at...
Feb 18, 2021•39 min
The Justice Department’s enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act is the most aggressive in decades. Enacted in 1938, FARA “requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities.” With greater enforcement, lawyers and their clients need to know...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr 1 min
This episode references: Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World https://www.harpercollins.com/products/kleptopia-tom-burgis?variant=32121952829474 National Security Law Today “Politics of Putin: Why he's attacking NATO, the EU, and America's free and fair elections” September 3, 2020 https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_national_security/nslt/20200903-politics-of-putin-1/ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Overview https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act 28 ...
Jan 28, 2021•32 min
This episode references: Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World https://www.harpercollins.com/products/kleptopia-tom-burgis?variant=32121952829474 Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/supervision-and-examination/bank-operations/financial-crime/suspicious-activity-reports/index-suspicious-activity-reports.html FINCen Geographic Targeting Order (GTO), Reissued November 4, 2020 https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/508_Real%20Estate%20GTO%20Orde...
Jan 21, 2021•37 min
Following the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, we spoke with longtime national security professors and practitioners William Banks, Mary DeRosa and Harvey Rishikof about the many different security threats and legal implications of last week's events. This episode references: National Security: Emerging Critical Issues CLE Webinar Series https://cvent.me/BNXmX5 The 25th Amendment https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxv Articles of Impeachment introduced in the House https:/...
Jan 12, 2021•50 min
Seth Jones is a Senior Adviser at CSIS and terrorism researcher discusses the growing terror threat from domestic political extremists - a threat that played out in the assault of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 This episode references: The ABA President's Statement on the violence at the Capitol https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2021/01/statement-of-aba-president-patricia-lee-refo-re--violence-at-the/ "Pro-Trump mob storms US Capitol in bid to overturn election" AP, J...
Jan 07, 2021•38 min
This week we discuss the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act which funds much of the defense and national security operations in the US and would add some interesting new cybersecurity protections. This year's bill is unusually controversial, with fights about social media regulations threatening the smooth passage of the legislation. This episode references: The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-116hr6395enr/pdf/BILLS-116hr6395enr.pdf "Tr...
Dec 17, 2020•47 min
Sometimes presidents have pardoned famous or controversial figures, stirring up news stories and even Congressional hearings. And we ask the biggest pardon question of them all: can the president pardon himself? This episode references:U.S. Constitution, Art. II, Sec. 2https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-2/section-2/ Congressional Report, Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in the Clinton White House, May 14, 2002. [In Three Parts] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-107hrpt454/...
Dec 10, 2020•33 min
Longtime former pardon attorney Helen Bollwerk explains that while the pardon power is solely at the discretion of the president, there are also lots of procedural regulations and judicial precedents that influence who gets pardoned. This episode references: U.S. Constitution, Art. II, Sec. 2 https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-2/section-2/ 28 CFR § 1.1 - 1.11 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/part-1 Ex parte Wells, 59 U.S. (18 How.) 307 (1855) https://supreme.justia.com/cases...
Dec 03, 2020•37 min
The podcast hosts discuss the ongoing troubles with the presidential transition, and why that's a security risk, along with the shakeups at the highest levels of CISA. This episode references: 9/11 Commission Report [PDF] https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report.pdf The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 [PDF]https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-78/pdf/STATUTE-78-Pg153.pdf CRS Report "Presidential Transitions: Issues Involving Outgoing and Incoming Administrations" May 17, 20...
Nov 19, 2020•22 min
The hosts of National Security Law Today look at major headlines form the past week around the election, the pandemic, and the firing of the Secretary of Defense. This episode references: "Politics of Putin: Why he's attacking NATO, the EU, and America's free and fair elections" National Security Law Today, September 3, 2020 https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_national_security/nslt/20200903-politics-of-putin-1/ "Trump adviser Scott Atlas apologizes for appearing on RT" Axios, November 1, 202...
Nov 12, 2020•20 min
Seth Jones discusses the changing landscape of terrorism over the past decades and why it is domestic extremists not international terror cells that are now the greatest threat to our national security. This episode references: Senate Hearing "Does Section 230’s Sweeping Immunity Enable Big Tech Bad Behavior?" October 28, 2020 https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2020/10/does-section-230-s-sweeping-immunity-enable-big-tech-bad-behavior Seth Jones "The War Comes Home: The Evolution of Domestic Terrori...
Nov 05, 2020•36 min
Professor Ned Foley of the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University returns to talk about the milestone election case Bush v Gore and what a successful election looks like in America. This episode references: Edward Foley, "How to Know if the Election Is Actually ‘Rigged’ " Politico, September 13, 2020 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/09/13/how-to-know-if-the-election-is-actually-rigged-412557 Presidential Elections and Majority Rule: The Rise, Demise, and Potential Restoration ...
Oct 29, 2020•34 min
Professor Edward "Ned" Foley discusses how Americans elect our federal officers and how the law and the courts have ruled on voting; from naming electors to deciding Bush v Gore in 2000. Edward Foley "Think the Constitution protects your right to vote? That’s not really true — but it should." Washington Post, October 19, 2020 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/19/does-the-constitution-protect-your-right-to-vote/ Presidential Elections and Majority Rule: The Rise, Demise, and Potenti...
Oct 22, 2020•37 min
ABA President Patricia "Trish" Refo discusses how the ABA supports elections and voting and how it advises on judicial nominations, and talks about her career in litigation. This episode references Federal Rules of Evidence https://www.rulesofevidence.org/ Daubert Standard from Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/509/579/ An army of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's former law clerks gathered to meet her casket at the Supreme Court, CB...
Oct 15, 2020•28 min
Dan Sutherland, Chief Counsel of the Cyber Infrastructure Security Agency discusses the challenges of supporting election security across the US and just what steps the government takes to safeguard the vote. This episode references: CISA Resources for Lawyers https://www.cisa.gov/resources-lawyers CISA Cyber Summit https://www.cisa.gov/live CISA Election Security Page https://www.cisa.gov/protect2020 CISA Election Security Resource Library https://www.cisa.gov/election-security-library Stanford...
Oct 08, 2020•37 min
In this episode John Barry, author of the bestselling book The Great Influenza discusses the historical and policy lessons of the 1918 flu and what they mean for 2020. This episode references The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History https://www.amazon.com/Great-Influenza-Deadliest-Pandemic-History/dp/0143036491 The Espionage Act of 1917 https://iowaculture.gov/sites/default/files/history-education-pss-wwi-espionageact-transcription.pdf The Sedition Act of 1918 https://...
Oct 01, 2020•43 min
Cynthia Ryan, the former general counsel of the NGA - the intelligence community's space surveillance and imaging agency - talks about her career path and what the biggest growth areas are in national security law. This episode references: National Space Council https://www.space.commerce.gov/category/national-space-council/ Law and Military Ops in Space with Jack Beard and Dale Stephens https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_national_security/nslt/20200430-woomera-manual-space-law/ NASA Publish...
Sep 24, 2020•35 min
Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker discusses her career as general counsel to the CIA and the NSA, and talks about how her work in the intelligence community led her to become a champion for civic education. This episode references: Women in American Cryptography https://www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic-heritage/historical-figures-publications/women/ CIA spycatcher Jeanne Vertefeuille https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2016-featured-story-archive/spy-catcher-jeanne-vertefeuille.htm...
Sep 17, 2020•1 hr 5 min
Dr. Jill Goldenziel talks about how she teaches law and leadership to Marines, how the U.S. needs to think differently about online free speech, and how China and America use law as an operational tool This episode references: The New Fighting Words?: How U.S. Law Hampers the Fight Against Information Warfare https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/jcl/vol22/iss1/3/ Packingham v. North Carolina 582 US _ (2017) https://www.oyez.org/cases/2016/15-1194 S. 4534: A bill to amend section 230 of the Communic...
Sep 10, 2020•43 min
This episode references "Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is out of coma and responsive after suspected poisoning, hospital says" CBS News, September 8, 2020 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alexei-navalny-russian-opposition-leader-out-of-coma-suspected-poisoning/ "Trolls, tracking and films: How Putin's Russia obsessively hounded opposition leader Navalny" Washington Post, August 29, 2020 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/navalny-russia-poison-kremlin/2020/08/28/03ad9c58-e6d2-11ea...
Sep 09, 2020•33 min
Robert Dannenberg, who served in the CIA for 24 years, discusses Putin's history and worldview, how he views NATO and the United States, and why Russia launched interference campaigns against US elections. This episode references "Alexei Navalny: Russia opposition leader poisoned with Novichok - Germany" BBC, September 2, 2020 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54002880 "Trolls, tracking and films: How Putin's Russia obsessively hounded opposition leader Navalny" Washington Post, August 29, 2...
Sep 03, 2020•35 min
Senior women in the intelligence community discuss national security legal issues, provide career advice, and answer audience questions. Watch the full panel video https://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_national_security/ The biographies of all speakers can be found below https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/law_national_security/speaker-bios-winsl-aug.pdf
Aug 27, 2020•28 min
