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 Comm...
Mar 08, 2022•1 hr 3 min
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 Amend...
Feb 22, 2022•1 hr 1 min
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 wom...
Feb 01, 2022•39 min
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 leade...
Jan 20, 2022•1 hr 6 min
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...
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 13 min
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...
Nov 09, 2021•1 hr 8 min
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 rel...
Oct 06, 2021•1 hr 8 min
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.
Sep 10, 2021•1 hr 9 min
In this week's episode, we focus on the unfolding situation in Afghanistan.
Aug 16, 2021•49 min
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...
Aug 11, 2021•1 hr 16 min
[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 conce...
Jul 13, 2021•1 hr 17 min
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 w...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Hello from Austin! We're back with a new episode! Tune in as your co-hosts Professor Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss and debate: SCOTUS narrows the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in Van Buren SCOTUS grants cert. in Fazaga, adding to the sense that the October '21 Term will be unprecedented for its engagement with state secrets privilege and FISA issues The Biden Administration withdraws IEEPA sanctions against TikTok and WeChat...for now, at least! GTMO closure trial-balloon? ...
Jun 15, 2021•1 hr 22 min
We are very excited for this week's show, in which we interview Eric Goldstein--the Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity at DHS CISA! We had a terrific conversation, with a focus on (1) understanding the specific programs and activities that CISA engages in to improve cybersecurity, (2) the highlights from President Biden's cybersecurity executive order, and (3) career pathway insights. We did not neglect the frivolity either--we've got NBA playoff predictions (including that rarest of...
May 24, 2021•52 min
Recording episode 202 was something of a milestone for us, because we met in Steve's office for an in-person recording for the first time since Before. Wow! We're grateful to be back in the "studio," and we found it was a much-more fun experience for us. See if you can detect the difference as we talk about A GTMO military commission ruling construing the Military Commissions Act prohibition on the admissibility of information derived from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment to app...
May 20, 2021•50 min
Our latest episode is shorter than normal because...well, we recorded most of it and then lost the file. Suffice to say we were a bit tired by the time the re-recording was done! Or maybe we're better off this way? Either way, tune in for our thoughts on the DC Circuit's en banc grant in the al Hela GTMO detainee case (asking whether the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause applies at GTMO), the ACLU's attempt to get SCOTUS to review a FISCOR decision relating to the ACLU's efforts to compel publi...
May 07, 2021•34 min
Thanks so much to everyone who attended (virtually) tonight's live recording of episode 200! It was a blast. We covered: The drawdown in Afghanistan and its legal implications (for the AUMF, detention, habeas litigation, the use of force, you-name-it) The latest developments in the Military Commissions The new round of sanctions against Russian entities--particularly those relating to the SolarWinds episode FBI's use of a Rule 41 search(-and-seizure) warrant to delete webshells off of servers co...
Apr 20, 2021•1 hr 35 min
In this week's episode, co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss and debate: The proposed Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act (and DOJ's January 2021 response to an earlier version of the DTPA) A pair of recent federal prosecutions involving attempt/conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State--and corresponding lessons about the way in which terrorism cases are developed using cooperating witnesses and undercover officers. The DC Circuit's ruling in the al-Tamir (was al-Had...
Apr 13, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Welcome back! This week your co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss and debate: The PCLOB's report on Executive Order 12,333 The government's decision to shutter Camp 7 at GTMO, consolidating those detainees with others at Camp 5 The proposed DC National Guard Home Rule Act The Supreme Court's decision to vacate and remand (for dismissal on mootness grounds) the Second Circuit's decision finding that President Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking followers on his Twitter acco...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Just in time for your weekend entertainment, NSL Podcast is back with a new episode. This time the show was recorded live before a (Zoom-based) audience of Texas Law alumni, which made for a nice change of pace! Tune in as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss and debate: War Powers reform: whither the 1991, 2001, and 2002 AUFMs? Might there even be agreement on how to handle "associated forces" in a 2001 AUMF reform package? The Tsarnaev (Boston Marathon bombing) case: SCOTUS has gra...
Mar 26, 2021•56 min
An extra-fun episode because we have an extra person with us tonight: Texas Law 3L Jake Bishop, our special guest host! Jake, thanks for joining in the fun! Tune in, as Jake and co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss: The return of the PPG? The Biden administration reinstates, for now, certain rules regarding the use of lethal force outside areas of active hostilities. Will it last? Does it matter? AUMF reform: the 2002 (and 1991!) AUMF version AUMF reform: the 2001 AUMF version The pr...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 30 min
Well, it's been a while, thanks to the ice/snow/power/water fiasco we recently underwent in Texas. But, though tired and not very prepared, we are back tonight! Tune in as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss and debate: The domestic and international law grounds cited by the Biden administration for its recent airstrike in Syria An update on the situation regarding high-value Islamic State detainees held by the SDF in Syria (and whether they ever were in US custody) A note on the ro...
Mar 03, 2021•1 hr 8 min
We had great fun recording this one, thanks to special guest Greg Gisvold (consultant and senior fellow with the Rule of Law Collaborative at the University of South Carolina) is the winner of a recent charity raffle in which the prize (or penalty???) was ... cohosting the show with us! That proved to be great news for us, for Greg's work around the globe working in support of rule-of-law-building programs couldn't be more interesting and important. Listen in to learn more, as we cover: The late...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr 20 min
This week on NSL Podcast, co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss The proposition that the First Amendment (particularly the Brandenburg rule) might matter for the Senate's trial of the impeachment of Donald Trump The D.C. Circuit's ruling rejecting subject-matter jurisdiction over Philip Sundel's attempt to gain access to a closed proceeding in the al Qosi litigation at the GTMO military commissions, with a special focus on the extensive dicta concerning the standing of agency employee...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr 11 min
And then it was over. Wow. Here's hoping we can focus on traditional national security law topics from now on! Today is a pretty good start. We've got: A new administration needs a welcoming gift...so, here's a delightful basket of...military commission charges involving the Bali/Jakarta bombings??? A parting gift from Army Secretary McCarthy: AR 190-8 no longer applicable at GTMO The DC Circuit weighs in on Hoda Muthana's citizenship status--ruling against her and thus also against her father's...
Jan 22, 2021•1 hr 12 min
We're back with further discussion of the insurrection: Is it constitutional for the Senate to carry on with trial of an Article of Impeachment if the impeached official is no longer in office? Yes, yes it is. Disqualification from future office is a separate and independent purpose of the trial phase, independent of removal from office; where it otherwise, any half-wit could avoid such punishment simply by resigning once it became clear they were likely to lose in the Senate. We review the stro...
Jan 13, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Today was a national tragedy of the first order. Tonight we discuss: the many crimes that definitely were committed, and certain other crimes -- particularly seditious conspiracy -- that may have been committed (and how that relates to the First Amendment Brandenburg test) the bizarre and indefensible lack of a strong police presence and a proper National Guard response (including an unpacking of the legal authorities governing control over DC's guard) some familiar -- and some not-so-familiar -...
Jan 07, 2021•53 min
How about a surprise mini-episode on New Year's Eve??? Sure, why not! Tune in for...well, not much. We just wanted to say hi, happy new year, thanks for being listeners, and 2020-Don't-Let-The-Door-Hit-You-On-The-Way-Out!
Jan 01, 2021•10 min
Hello from Austin, home of SolarWinds and CyberTrucks! [ed. note: uh, no. Let's go with home of bbq and tacos instead] We're back with another round of discussion and debate with Professors Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney, as they cover: Erica Newland's NY Times op-ed arguing that DOJ attorneys should have resigned early on during the Trump administration What exactly counts as a seditious conspiracy for purposes of (i) federal criminal law and (ii) the Uniform Code of Military Justice? Asking f...
Dec 22, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Hey, we're back on our weekly schedule! How 'bout that...now we'll probably skip the next three, but hey, until then, we've got a quite a show, not to mention the launch of our holiday charity drive! What's that all about? Well, it's simple: give $5 or more to Casa Marianella, forward the emailed receipt that you get from them to ThisIsTheWay@strausscenter.org (.org, not .com!), and you will be entered in a drawing. What drawing? Well, after January 15, we'll pick one of the entries at random, a...
Dec 16, 2020•1 hr 14 min
