Episode 82: Helsinki…Sweden!

Another busy week for the National Security Law Podcast!  Buckle up for: "The Press Conference" and its aftermath - Your co-hosts agree that it was a fiasco, but they disagree sharply on whether administration officials should resign because of it.  Tune in for an extended discussion of the situation involving Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, in particular. Russia indictments before and after - Famously, just prior to Helsinki, the Special Counsel dropped a bombshell indictment against a group of Russian military intelligence officers for election interference-related charges. Then, the day after The Press Conference, DOJ's National Security Division went public with a distinct case involving a Russian citizen charged with conspiracy to act as a Russian agent in the United States without registering with DOJ (and in that case, the defendant actually is in US custody). Doe v. Mattis - Judge Chutkan heard argument last week regarding whether to bar the government from releasing Doe into Syria.  The ruling will drop later this week most likely, but why wait? Your hosts speculate on the likely outcome, dwelling on the role of "national security fact deference" and, especially, whether the government can be forced to give Doe a passport or other identity documents. Judge Kavanaugh - If confirmed, would Judge Kavanaugh mark a significant departure from Justice Kennedy on national security matters?  Your hosts find a bit of common ground here, but plenty on which they disagree. Military Commissions - There's a new issues, involving the Lucia decision, which may have a big impact in Nashiri (and other cases).  Is the Convening Authority properly appointed? NDAA note: The Conference Committee is finishing its work on the new NDAA, so we'll delay our coverage of its cyber (and other) provisions until the final text is public. GTMO and Periodic Review Boards - An oral argument in the CCR's renewed-habeas case for a large group of detainees at GTMO took place before Judge Hogan last week, renewing attention to the question of whether a person ever can be released once initially determined eligible for detention there.  The Periodic Review Board process has long been the answer to that question, but with uncertainty regarding the willingness of the Trump Administration to actually act upon PRB determinations, the possibility of legislation to stabilize and perhaps empower the PRB system is beginning to get attention. As for frivolity...Die Hard appears here and there on the show, but the main segment at the end is more of an "extra" than a "frivolity." Steve has a discussion of the new supplement for his co-authored casebook (click here for the front matter). And on Thursday this week, Bobby will be in DC, at the Heritage Foundation, for an event drawing attention to the policy, legal, and technical challenges associated with Deep Fakes.  His brand-new paper with co-author Danielle Citron (Maryland) has just gone live on SSRN, here.  The event at Heritage, which features a keynote from Senator Marco Rubio, will be livestreamed (12:30 to 1:30 eastern, this Thursday).  More here.