The National Security Law Podcast

Betcha thought we were done…but we’re back!  Tune in as Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss and debate the latest (ok, some of this stuff is months old) national security law and related developments, including:

• The renewal of Section 702 (aka our first contribution to the rapidly-upcoming debate over the next renewal)
• The conviction of the former president in New York Court (and the prospects for SCOTUS to get...

Hello, is this thing on?  Check one, check two…testing, testing.  We’re good?  Alright alright alright…

It’s been 100 days between shows.  Thought maybe the world might be calmer if we waited a bit, but no such luck!  We are, however, very glad to be back on the air with a fresh (and rather long!) episode. Tune in for topics including:

• Israel & Hamas
• Ukraine & Russia
• America & the Houthis
• 70...

Barring an unlikely spate of more than a dozen episodes happening over the next week, it sure looks like Steve has won his bet with Bobby, for this marks the 16th episode of 2023.  Ouch, that’s not even *close* to the 30-show target!  But tune in anyway if you are interested in a thorough overview of what is and is not clear about the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision disqualifying Donald Trump from the ballot under col...

Two months between episodes?  Looks like someone will be buying Steve a dinner at the conclusion of 2023 (barring a pivot to posting new episodes every day).

As for what is on tap in episode 243:

1. Israel and Gaza: a review of key international law issues
2. The United States and Iran: a review of key domestic law issues
3. Trumplandia: checking in on, like, 17 separate cases currently underway

As for frivolity: there are some (...

If you are interested in a detailed and careful explanation of the charges at issue in United States v. Trump (the recent indictment of the former president in relation to his effort to overturn the results of the election), the way that the alleged facts related to those offenses, and the relatives strengths and weaknesses of the most likely defenses…well, this is the show for you.  Though co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Ch...

Well, it’s been about a month, so it’s good we are finally back with a fresh episode!  Tune in as hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney kick the tires on:

• The New York Times story (per Charlie Savage) on the Biden Administration’s October ’22 revised policy guidance on kill/capture operations outside areas of active hostilities
• Touching base with the will-it-ever-end (no) Nashiri litigation
• The National...

Today’s episode focuses on the indictment in United States v. Donald Trump and Waltine Nauta, S.D. Fla. (23-80101-CR).  Co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney walk you through the factual allegations, the crimes charged, the areas where tricky evidence questions might arise, the process for selecting the presiding judge, and the prospects for an array of things including: recusal; a Presidential Records Act defense; a I-dec...

And we’re back, with co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney breaking down the latest national security law news along with much else.  This week the spotlight is on the D.C. Circuit’s en banc decision in al Hela, which grapples with the applicability of the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause (in both its procedural and substantive aspects) to GTMO detainees.  We’ve also got an update on the Badilla contractor im...

We’re back with a Spring Break edition, featuring:

• ICC cases emerging against Russian defendants for (1) removing children from Ukraine to Russia and (2) attacking civilian infrastructure
• A UK drone strike in Syria, a US drone strike in Yemen, and a US drone struck (by the Russians)
• Renewal of Section 702 and the Rep. LaHood story
• TikTok, CFIUS, and the RESTRICT Act
• Another GTMO transfer
• Possible repeal of the 2002 and 1...

Are you ready for a DEEP DIVE?  We’ve got an extended conversation today explaining the stakes and anticipating the outcomes in two cases argued in front of SCOTUS this week:  Google v. Gonzalez and Twitter v. Taamneh.  The cases present questions about the scope of civil liability under the Anti-Terrorism Act in the aiding-and-abetting context (as applied to the use of social media platforms by terrorist groups) and the prop...

We are delighted this week to feature two Texas Law students — Sam Libby and Alex Rigby — who earned the chance to co-host the show with us thanks to their generosity supporting the Texas Law Fellowships program (a charitable endeavor that supports Texas Law students doing summer public interest work).  Join us as we talk about just how it is that Prime Minister Trudeau can be involved in orders that result in American ...

After a week with no electricity, Professors Vladeck and Chesney are back with the latest in national security law news.  Tune in for discussions of:

• the law (or lack thereof) when it comes to balloons, altitude, and aerial espionage
• sanctions on the Wagner Group and also on various Russians associated with ransomware
• FBI and DOJ disrupting the Hive ransomware group
• Majid Khan transferred from GTMO to … Belize?
• Ted Olson...

What’s this, a one-week turnaround between shows?  Will wonders never cease? In a throwback to the days of this being a weekly show, your co-hosts Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck are back on a quick turnaround in order to debate and discuss:

• A new seditious conspiracy conviction arising out of Jan. 6
• A New York State “material support” prosecution (State v. el Faisal)
• Various SCOTUS updates
• Any classified doc...

Wouldn’t want you to be misled by the episode number (though we do actually foreshadow some future Section 230 coverage in light of an upcoming pair of SCOTUS cases)!  At any rate: tune in as Professors Chesney and Vladeck discuss what is and isn’t similar about the Trump and Biden classified documents scenarios; the relative authority of the President and Congress under the Arms Export Control Act (in light of the pote...

Happy 2023 y’all!  We are off to a quick start this year.  Tune in as Professors Vladeck and Chesney discuss recent developments, including:

1. The Supreme Court’s “Title 42”-related action in Arizona v. Mayorkas
2. Highlights from the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year ’23 (including a National Guard reform that did not make it, and a newly-clarified authorization for Cyber Command that...

Holiday edition!  Tune in as co-hosts Steve Vladeck and Bobby Chesney discuss the rapid demise of the attempt by Donald Trump’s lawyers to use Executive Privilege in relation to the classified documents found at Mar a Lago, the arrival in the US of a former Libyan intelligence officer charged with a key role in the horrific bombing of Pan Am 103 in 1988, the arrival in the US of a Mauritanian man charged with several terroris...