In the Situation, Benjamin Wittes considers Judge Boasberg's finding of probable contempt by the government in the Alien Enemies Act case and where the case may go from here.
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The Situation: Vindicating the Semblance of Due Process
A meditation on Judge Boasberg’s contempt ruling in increasingly run-on sentences.
The hearing on the removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to an El Salvadorian prison has just finished. Anna Bower and Roger Parloff were in the courtroom and will join Benjamin Wittes for a live conversation shortly. Watch their conversation here: https://youtube.com/live/TWEHwgAWQGw?feature=share
“[T]he Supreme Court’s willingness to resort to a procedural ruling to avoid a direct clash with the executive could have real costs, not just for those swept up by the [Alien Enemies Act], but also for the Court’s position in the separation of powers,” writes Jonathan Hafetz
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Habeas and the Alien Enemies Act: Challenges and Opportunities
The Supreme Court’s procedural ruling in Trump v. J.G.G. could have real costs for those swept up by the AEA and for the separation of powers.
Since taking office President Trump has fired the board members of independent agencies, like the FTC, Inter-American Foundation, African Development Foundation, and NLRB. Anne Joseph O'Connell explores whether the president had the legal and constitutional authority to do so.
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Can the President Appoint Principal Officers Without the Senate?
Trump claims he can fire officers not picked by the president and hire acting leaders for Senate-confirmed roles outside the Vacancies Act.
In Feb. 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the years since, different perspectives on the fight emerge and lead to tensions that leave Ukraine's fate uncertain, and its relationship with The United States in jeopardy. Listen to the season finale of Escalation wherever you get your podcasts. Escalation is hosted by Anastasiia Lapatina and Tyler McBrien. This episode features Shane Harris, Timothy Snyder, John Mearsheimer, and Eric Ciaramella.
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Escalation: Boiling The Frog
Listen to the seventh and final episode of Escalation, a narrative podcast on U.S.-Ukraine relations.
Tomorrow at 4pm ET, Benjamin Wittes will sit down with Anna Bower, Quinta Jurecic, Roger Parloff, James Pearce, and Bob Bauer to discuss the legal challenges to President Trump’s executive actions, including the Supreme Court’s rulings in the Alien Enemies Act and the firing of probationary employees cases.
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Lawfare Live: Trials of the Trump Administration, April 11
Join the Lawfare team at 4 pm ET for a discussion of the litigation targeting actions from President Trump.
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"[A]t the end of the day, you can’t kidnap people off the streets and ship them to El Salvador and then wax indignant about the overweening federal judges who tell you to bring them back—at least not credibly," writes Benjamin Wittes in the Situation.
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The Situation: Missing
Can the government win a case by losing the plaintiff?
On Lawfare Daily, Kevin Frazier and Renee DiResta spoke to Derek Thompson about his new book, "Abundance," the theory of Abundance, and its feasibility in an age of political discord and institutional distrust.
“If the executive branch is determined to provoke a constitutional crisis, then confrontation is inevitable. It is better that the crisis arises from the Court doing its job than from the Court being cowed into submission,” writes Suzanne Spaulding.
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Judicial Independence May Require Confrontation
SCOTUS cannot avoid a constitutional crisis by avoiding confrontation with the administration.
Newly-independent Ukraine has inherited thousands of nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union. So the United States, Russia and Ukraine craft a high-stakes deal to disarm Ukraine in exchange for national security protection. But has Washington held up their end of the bargain? Or has Ukraine been betrayed? Episode 2 of Escalation is out now, wherever you get your podcasts.
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Escalation: No Guarantees
Listen to the second episode of Escalation, a narrative podcast on U.S.-Ukraine relations.