The National Security Law Podcast - Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck

Latest Episodes:

Episode 176: This Podcast Won’t Play Football This Fall Aug 10, 2020

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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 question relating to the scope of CDC/HHS pandemic-response authority. As for frivolity: we discuss whether and how college football will unfold this fall (or maybe this spring, or maybe not at all), but more importantly we also ask listeners to weigh next week on an important topic: Best movie soundtracks of the 1980s. Which is pretty funny because, well, that was the subject of frivolity in Episode 50, and neither of us remembered that while recording the current episode! In fairness, that was fall 2017, which was like 623 years ago...

Episode 175: The President Has No Authority to Delay This Podcast Jul 31, 2020

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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 elements in that story The Second Circuit's curious decision in Hassoun All that plus live reactions as the Mets drop another one, as the NBA restarts, and as Watchmen quite rightly rakes in the Emmy nominations.

Episode 174: Portland Trailblazing Jul 21, 2020

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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, Michael Cohen litigates BOP's ability to send him back to jail for publishing a book Meanwhile, in regular law enforcement: terrorism charges for an MS-13 leader Meanwhile, at GTMO: A remarkable sanction against the government issued by the trial judge in the Majid Khan military commission case Meanwhile in Europe: The Court of Justice of the European Union blows up Privacy Shield based on concerns involving Section 702 and also 12,333 collection Meanwhile in the 9th Circuit: A sharp dispute over the interaction of FISA and the state-secrets privilege just might set the stage for SCOTUS to weigh in And then, after all, we have what we must admit was a desultory frivolity segment. Though maybe that is purposeful performance art, projecting how the MLB "regular season" is going to feel...

Episode 173: This Is John Roberts’s Podcast Jul 10, 2020

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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?

Episode 172: Cleanup on Aisle Trump! Jul 02, 2020

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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 An actual bill in the Senate addressing the "going dark"/Crypto Wars 2.0 debate: The Lawful Access to Encrypted Data Act SCOTUS roundup: Article II and the power to remove; extraterritorial constitutional rights; Congressional access to grand jury material; the Alien Tort Statute, foreign sovereign immunity And for frivolity? In honor of the upcoming Disney+ stream of Hamilton, we consider the song (with a strong assist from Kirk Hamilton's Strong Songs podcast).

Episode 171: There’s a Spectrum of Corruption Jun 26, 2020

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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.

Episode 170: This Podcast Is Not Subject to (Prior) Restraint Jun 19, 2020

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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 analyst this week, and speculation about how it would look if DOJ took this approach with John Bolton The Supreme Court's DACA ruling: wrestling with the nuances of the decision There were no National Guard air assets conducting surveillance in DC...unless maybe there were? There were no Pennsylvania National Guard personnel in DC...unless maybe there were? Oh, look, international armed conflict between China and India... The Uighur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 becomes law: understanding how it relates to IEEPA, where it does and does not provide wiggle room for the president, and whether its plain terms warrant application to President Xi and other senior Chinese officials. As for frviolity: Sportsball is almost back...but will the NBA or MLB really deliver games?

Episode 169: Now We’re a Third Amendment Podcast Jun 12, 2020

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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 from it The NDAA and proposals to mandate renaming of US military bases named for Confederate Generals GTMO, military commissions, the Majid Khan ruling (to the effect that torture can be cited as grounds for mitigation at sentencing), and implications for the 9/11 prosecution and capital punishment President Trump's Executive Order declaring a national emergency vis-a-vis the prospect of ICC action against U.S. personnel, and the corresponding creation of a sanctions regime against not just ICC personnel involved in such actions but also against those who materially support them. And a surprisingly belated-yet-timely review of HBO's Watchmen series. Seriously, if you haven't watched it yet, get started!

Episode 168: On the Brink with the Insurrection Act Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

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.

Episode 167: Podcast Emergency Action Documents May 21, 2020

Show notes

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 case concerning the application (or not) of the Due Process Clause All that...and, well, Sofia the First and Elena of Avalor.

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