Good Morning:
The cactus appears in Riga outside the Russian embassy—across from which a famous portrait of Vladimir Putin hangs.
Yesterday on #DogShirtTV, the estimable Mike Feinberg and I held up a mirror to a mirror by reading the estimable Quinta Jurecic’s profile of Mike in the Atlantic line by line and commenting on it. In the process, we discussed the history and culture of the FBI—and whether pandas deserve to go extinct:
Yesterday On Lawfare
Compiled by the estimable Mary Ford
The Trump Admin’s Embrace of Ideological Expulsion and Deportation
Julia Rose Kraut and Tyler McBrien detail the legislative history and the U.S. government’s previous invocations of 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(C), the foreign policy provision the Trump administration used to justify the detention of Mahmoud Khalil and others. The authors argue that despite shifting targets and legal reasoning, the government’s motivation behind the ideological exclusion and deportation of foreign noncitizens has remained consistent: the suppression of dissent.
The foreign policy provision and the arrest and detention of Khalil and of other foreign noncitizens in the United States has brought the use of ideological exclusion and deportation as a tool of political repression to the forefront of the public’s attention. And, consequently, it has also revealed what appears to be the Trump administration’s desire and determination to repeat the mistakes of the past, rather than to learn from them.
Exploring Ukraine’s Armed Neutrality or Nonalignment: Legal and Policy Considerations
Mykhailo Soldatenko considers alternative security arrangements for Ukraine—permanent neutrality or nonalignment—given that the country’s accession to NATO appears unlikely, and explains how the adoption of either of these policies could bring Moscow back to the negotiating table in peace talks with Kyiv.
One of the key points of disagreement between Ukraine and Russia that, if addressed, could create an opening in the negotiations is whether Ukraine will maintain its aspirations for NATO membership or become a nonaligned or neutral state. The last time the parties had meaningful talks about ending the war was in Istanbul in 2022, precisely the discussions about neutrality that helped achieve some progress in the negotiations. The major question is whether Ukraine can ensure its security and independence while remaining neutral or militarily nonaligned, and whether Ukraine can keep its political alignment and security cooperation with its Western partners. Armed neutrality or nonalignment can make it possible, but only if Russia backs down from its own expansive vision of Ukraine’s neutrality and Western partners agree to a robust security arrangement for Ukraine.
How A Tax Subpoena in Ohio Tests European Privacy Law
Iain Nash discusses the case of U.S. v. Eaton—in which a judge ordered the Eaton Corporation to turn over employee data stored in Ireland—and whether the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation can block U.S. subpoenas, U.S. law enforcement requests for evidence stored in Europe, and challenge U.S. regulatory demands.
The short answer is that the GDPR prohibits fewer transfers than commonly assumed by the legal and academic communities—but only when the party receiving the order walks carefully through four separate hurdles. First, it must ask whether the material is “personal data,” meaning any information that identifies a living person directly or indirectly. Second, it must identify a lawful basis of processing the personal data. Third, it must select a valid international transfer mechanism under Chapter V. Finally, it must show that the disclosure is necessary and proportionate to the stated purpose. Fail any step, and the target risks contempt in the United States or potentially steep administrative penalties in the European Union. Succeed on all four and the data can cross the Atlantic.
Podcasts
On Lawfare Daily, Alan Rozenshtein sits down with Sezaneh Seymour and Brandon Wales to discuss their new Lawfare research report entitled “Partners or Provocateurs? Private-Sector Involvement in Offensive Cyber Operations.”
On Scaling Laws, Lauren Wagner and Andrew Freedman join Kevin Frazier to take stock of the current artificial intelligence regulatory space and the difficulties implementing effective AI governance with bills such as SB 813.
Today’s #BeastOfTheDay is the snail, seen here pressing a button too many times:
In honor of today’s Beast, give the button a moment to breathe.
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