It's National Safe Harbor day (for all you Electoral College enthusiasts), and we're here to celebrate with a new show. Join for spirited but respectful debate between Professors Chesney and Vladeck as they discuss: The legal basis for a possible presidential action to compel Pfizer to bump the United States ahead of other countries when it comes to accessing vaccine doses beyond the 100m covered in the current contract Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's attempt to get the Supreme Court to adju...
Dec 08, 2020•1 hr 7 min
And...we're back! Tune in as Professors Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss the latest in national security legal developments, including: Prospects for the Biden Administration to chart a new course with respect to (a) the use of military detention at GTMO, (b) the transfer of GTMO detainees approved for such transfer already, or (c) the use of military commissions as the vehicle for criminal prosecutions Prospects for the nomination to be Secretary of Defense, and the role of the federal s...
Nov 30, 2020•1 hr 2 min
In this week's episode, co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss and debate: The array of firings and appointments of senior Defense Department officials The law governing the General Services Administration and support for presidential transitions Whether it is appropriate to place pressure on Jones Day (and their other clients) based on the involvement of Jones Day lawyers in election-challenge lawsuits United States v. Maiorana: charge against a Staten Island man, under 18 USC 875(c) ...
Nov 11, 2020•53 min
We are back, but alas we're here to talk about the election! If you were hoping for a national security-focused escape from the election, well, we'll make it up to you soon)!
Nov 06, 2020•1 hr 7 min
And we're back, after a(nother) week off! What do we have to show for it? Tune is as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney as they review: Steve's Supreme Court argument in Briggs -- more military justice at SCOTUS! Speaking of the Court: whither the role of the Chief once he's not obviously the fifth vote? Who will be the new swing justice? And what to make of the Court's actions this week in the Pennsylvania and Alabama election cases? Meanwhile, over at the DOJ National Security Division: ...
Oct 22, 2020•52 min
They may or may not have more presidential debates, but you'll always at least have us! Tune in for this week's episode as Professors Chesney and Vladeck review the latest national security law developments: The two so-called Islamic State "Beatles" have now arrived in Virginia to face criminal prosecution in civilian court. Meanwhile, the trial before a military commission of KSM and others charged with involvement in the 9/11 plot needs a judge, again. In a horrifying illustration of organized...
Oct 08, 2020•47 min
We're not a biweekly show, we promise! It just seems that way sometimes...like this week, when we are bringing you: Discussing the passing of Justice Ginsburg and potential implications of the Amy Coney Barrett nomination for national security and rule of law cases Breaking down the separate opinions enjoining IEEPA sanctions against WeChat (on First Amendment grounds) and TikTok (on IEEPA exception grounds) The FISC's 2019 Section 702 certification opinion and ongoing issues of compliance The N...
Sep 29, 2020•1 hr 25 min
So we took a week off without warning because, you know, 2020. But we're back, and we sure don't lack for things to discuss and debate! Tune in as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney weigh in on: The NY Times story reporting a request from AFRICOM to expand targeting authorities involving al Shabaab in Kenya in particular. The President's denial, and then confirmation, that he favored trying to kill Bashar al-Assad. DOJ launching a criminal investigation of former National Security Advisor ...
Sep 16, 2020•1 hr 14 min
We are back after a week off, and apparently your co-hosts used the extra time to sharpen disagreements about old school topics like ... GTMO! Tune in for: An extended debate over the D.C. Circuit's Al Hela decision, including everything from the scope of the NDAA FY'12 detention provisions to the applicability of the Due Process Clause at GTMO A shorter discussion of similar issues that also arose last week in the district court's ruling in Uthman About the Hatch Act....I mean, good heavens. We...
Aug 31, 2020•1 hr 13 min
We are back with a new episode, bringing you respectful disagreements and discussion--not to mention heaps of frivolity--about the latest national security law news. This week, co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss: Attorney General Barr's offer to eschew the death penalty in order to enable the UK to provide the US with inculpatory evidence against the two Islamic State "Beatles" detainees currently in US military custody...and his promise that they mean will be transferred to Iraq f...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 7 min
We were out last week...what'd we miss? Oh. So, there was much we could have covered this week, but we decided to focus on these three: The First Circuit ruling vacating the Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon Bombing) death penalty based on concerns about jury bias The President's decision to sanction TikTok and WeChat Legal questions raised by the quartet of executive orders and other presidential directives over the weekend relating to COVID-19 economic relief, including an important federalism questio...
Aug 10, 2020•1 hr 12 min
We delay this program just fine without his help, thank you very much. Well, I guess you can see what we are leading with this evening. The run-of-show: President Trump's suggestion about delaying the election Michael Cohen will be home, and writing, after all Michael Flynn, on the other hand, can't be so sure about staying home thanks to the en banc D.C. Circuit (until he gets a pardon, that is) The Tata nomination in tatters? Revisiting Portland and trying to zero in on the most significant el...
Jul 31, 2020•1 hr 23 min
This week we don't lack for topics, to say the least. Tune in for in-the-weeds discussion of: Trumplandia meets Portlandia 1: What's the legal basis for DHS components engaging in law enforcement activity there? Trumplandia meets Portlandia 2: Since when can you just shoot a non-violent person in the head with a "less-than-lethal" round? Trumplandia meets Portlandia 3: What's the legal framework for DHS collection and analysis of intelligence relating to property-protective missions? Meanwhile, ...
Jul 21, 2020•1 hr 10 min
We're back, with a Supreme-Court focused episode! Tune in for: The Supreme Court's twin decisions in the New York grand jury and Congressional subpoena cases The consequences of those decisions for related litigation such as the Don McGahn subpoena case The McGirt decision on the Muskogee nation's control of territory in eastern Oklahoma The petition for en banc review in the Michael Flynn case As for frivolity, how could it be anything other than the Hamilton movie?
Jul 10, 2020•1 hr 18 min
This week on NSL Podcast, co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney review and debate the latest national security legal news, including: Russian "bounties" on U.S. forces in Afghanistan, including (theoretical) legal implications A district court ruling finding the government lacks sufficient evidence to hold Adham Hassoun under Section 412 of the USA Patriot Act The Julian Assange prosecution: new fact allegations that might help distinguish his situation from that of conventional journalists A...
Jul 02, 2020•1 hr 2 min
We're back with an evening recording, as co-hosts Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck weigh in on: The D.C. Circuit's Mike Flynn ruling, and the likely path ahead The bizarre process of removing SDNY US Attorney Geoffrey Berman The Bolton book ruling The Veterans Memorial Preservation Act PCLOB's FISA session earlier this week The SCOTUS ruling on Expedited Removal and the Suspension Clause And then we gripe, a bunch, about rules MLB did and did not adopt for their upcoming rump season....
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 21 min
In the latest episode of the National Security Law Podcast, co-hosts Professors Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss: Juneteenth, the Emancipation Proclamation, and War Powers DOJ's doomed effort to get a prior restraint preventing publication of John Bolton's already widely-distributed book (and, in contrast, DOJ's strong prospects for getting a constructive trust for breach of contract) Espionage Act liability for leaking national security information: a 30-month sentence for a former DIA a...
Jun 19, 2020•1 hr 10 min
After an extra-long break, we are back...and swamped! Tune in for debate and discussion of, among other things: The National Guard deployments to Washington, DC, including questions of status, command, and authority The special circumstances of the DC National Guard (and, relatedly, the issue of DC statehood) The Third Amendment, hotels, and originalism??? Civ-Mil relations and the weird weeks for General Milley and Secretary Esper The Tom Cotton Op-Ed and the NY Times' response to the fallout f...
Jun 12, 2020•1 hr 29 min
Tonight we bring you a special episode, recorded jointly with Ben Wittes as an episode of the Lawfare Podcast. Ben, Bobby, and Steve explore the threatened invocation of the Insurrection Act by President Trump, the president's existing use of the DC National Guard, the president's assertion that he will designate Antifa as a "domestic terrorist organization," and the use of tear gas and rubber bullets to clear protesters out of Lafayette Square Park in order to facilitate a presidential photo op...
Jun 02, 2020•53 min
Welcome back to the nerdiest national security law show around! Tune in this week for debate and discussion between Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney regarding: Inspector General firings Presidential Emergency Action Documents Mike Flynn's sentencing as the OJ Simpson Trial Apple, FBI, and the Pensacola AQAP plot as the latest salvo in the Going Dark/Cryptowars debate The ruling of Germany's Federal Constitutional Court in the BND surveillance case The D.C. Circuit ruling in Ali, a GTMO habeas cas...
May 21, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Welcome back to the National Security Law Podcast, after a one-week hiatus! (You can actually watch the recording here, if you need more Zoom in your life). In this episode, Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss and debate: This week's SCOTUS oral arguments in the Trump business subpoena cases. Is a pragmatic compromise in the works? Will the DA and HPSCI emerge winners? DOJ called, and they want to abandon their successful prosecution of Mike Flynn because...well, res ipsa loquitor. Speaking ...
May 14, 2020•1 hr 34 min
What a fun episode! Co-hosts Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck recorded "live" before the Austin Bar Association, as the finale of their day-long Zoom conference. On tap: The ODNI report on FISA statistics: We have a detailed discussion of the highlights, focusing on whether there is cause for alarm in the renews that FBI in some instances failed to get a warrant (as required by statute) before accessing the content of U.S. person communications incidentally collected via 702. Pandemia: What's the...
May 02, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Is this our most-substantive episode ever? No, no it's not. Is it a sign that co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney are going a bit stir crazy? Perhaps so. Does it feature cute cameos from Steve's kids and his dog? Yes, that it does! (Which is why you probably want to peek at the Zoom video recording of the session, which is here!) At any rate, tune in for: Pandemia: We discuss and debate the implications of the Attorney General's cryptic reference to the possibility of Justice Department int...
Apr 22, 2020•58 min
And we're back, with discussion of the latest national security law news. (Video of the show here!) This week, co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney nerd out with the details on: Can he do that? President Trump says he might adjourn Congress so as to be able to use his recess-appointment power. Inquiring minds want to know: is that a thing? Oh, also: can he do that? President Trump also says he has "total authority" over whether and when the economy should reopen, and Vice President Pence say...
Apr 16, 2020•1 hr 17 min
We are "live" from Penn Law today! Thanks to the Penn Law National Security Society, not to mention the magic of Zoom, we recorded today with a virtual audience. Tune in for your co-hosts, Professors Chesney and Vladeck, as they debate: Paracha v. Trump: A blast from the past: a district court habeas ruling on the legal and factual foundations for holding a GTMO military detainee, one that raises fascinating (and relatively novel) questions about the use of military detention in circumstances wh...
Apr 08, 2020•1 hr 17 min
It's not April Fool's trick, we really are back with a new episode covering the latest in national security law news. Watch the video here, if you aren't getting enough Zoom. This week we've got: DOJ's Inspector General has come out with the first of what may be a series of reports on the quality of FBI's procedures in preparing FISA applications. This one is about compliance with the "Woods Procedures," and it is not a positive story for FBI. We explain, and we debate what follows from this. Wi...
Apr 02, 2020•1 hr 19 min
This is our second lockdown episode, simulcast as a Zoom-based video! If you didn't believe us before about our commitment to production authenticity, well you will if you watch the video version! [ed. note: guys, that's not funny, you can't blow off your lack of production values and slapdash approach to all this by claiming it makes you "authentic"!] You should be able to download it here: https://utexas.app.box.com/v/NSLepisode160 Happily, we are joined this week by Prof. Jen Daskal from Amer...
Mar 27, 2020•1 hr 9 min
We may be on home lockdown, but that didn't stop us from recording! Thanks to the magic of Zoom, we gathered online to record this episode, and just for kicks we recorded the video while we were at it. So, if you ever wondered what sort of faces we make at each other while recording, well, now's your chance. We'll put the link for the video out, via the NSL Podcast twitter feed (@nslpodcast). Enjoy! As for substance: The expiration of the Lone Wolf, Roving Wiretap, and Section 215 authorities, a...
Mar 21, 2020•1 hr 11 min
Are you "working" from home now? Perhaps it's time to take a break and enjoy the latest episode of the National Security Law Podcast. In a discussion that takes the goal of let's-not-prepare-too-much to new heights, your co-hosts Professors Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck are back to talk about: potential reauthorization this week of the three FISA provisions that otherwise will expire on March 15th the public-health imperative of flattening the curve when it comes to the spread of COVID-19 (tha...
Mar 11, 2020•45 min
Back-to-back episodes! After yesterday's interview-focused show, we wanted to get right back into the mix with discussion and debate over the latest national security law news. Tune in for: Beyond quarantine: What happens when local authorities declare an emergency and then bar people *released* from quarantine from being in the city? San Antonio wants to find out... So Ken Cuccinelli is *not* the Acting Director at US CIS, because he was not properly made the "first assistant" in the chain of s...
Mar 04, 2020•57 min
