Remember What Russians Did To You

Along the way as you came forth from Egypt

Good Evening:

Your occasional reminder that we have the sort of president who writes things like this.

Also, as I write, the Russians are rocketing Kyiv and dozens of Ukrainian civilians are wounded.

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Today’s Documents

It occurs to me that a lot of interesting legal documents cross my desk over the course of a day. I have decided to start assembling them in each day’s dog shirt.

Sometimes, I will forget to do it. But whatever, people may find it useful.

Harvard University’s complaint is well done. I have no doubt the university will get quick relief from the courts. As we have seen with other litigants, however, the government’s compliance will be a challenge.

Speaking of which, Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland is out of patience with the government’s compliance in discovery matters in the Abrego Garcia case.

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The estimable Katherine Pompilio was trying to get ChatGPT to dish disinformation on me. She tried to get it to explain my fictional history as a member of Congress, which it used to do. It no longer does this. Then she tried to get it to explain, which it also used to do, that she—not I—is editor in chief of Lawfare. Again, it corrected her.

But then, she asked it about my history of making make-up videos. And check out this defamatory response, which utterly erases my history as an influencer:

This hurt my feelings.

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Today on #DogShirtTV, the estimable Holly Berkley Fletcher and I discussed protest movements, the relationship between religion and violence, and why Americans are obsessed with having straight teeth. Then the estimable Jonathan Rauch joined me to celebrate the death of the liberal order, and Holly went off to get her son’s teeth straightened:

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Today On Lawfare

Compiled by the estimable Caroline Cornett

Repealing Humphrey’s Executor and the Problem of the Federal Reserve

Todd Phillips discusses an emergency petition before the Supreme Court that could overturn Humphrey’s Executor and the for-cause removal protections it accords to certain officials. Phillips argues that the Court cannot craft an exception for governors of the Federal Reserve while stripping other officials of protections and emphasizes the importance of preserving the Fed's independence in the face of political interference.

One could argue that monetary policy is different. Chief Justice John Roberts hinted in Seila Law that the Fed may be able to “claim a special historical status,” and Justice Samuel Alito argued, while dissenting in Community Financial Services Association of America, that the agency is “a unique institution with a unique historical background.” Both are perhaps referring to the fact that one of the first Congress’s first acts was to charter the First Bank of the United States, a de facto central bank. However, neither it nor its successor looked anything like the Federal Reserve. The First Bank collected tax revenue for the government, made loans to the government, and facilitated government payments throughout the nation. To the extent the First Bank conducted monetary policy, it did so by redeeming other banks’ notes, forcing those that were insolvent to close and ensuring circulating notes were backed by hard currency. The First Bank did not set the value of money, regulate other banks, hold banks’ reserves, or serve as the lender of last resort, as the Fed does today.

The Case for a Joint U.S.-China AI Lab

Simon Goldstein and Peter N. Salib argue that the establishment of a joint United States-China artificial intelligence (AI) research lab—which would pool resources such as talent and compute—can mitigate the threat of an AI race and advance development.

The joint lab avoids the risk of an AI race. Both the U.S. and China could expect to receive their fair share of the benefits of AI development, without being left behind. Neither superpower would have the opportunity to dominate the other. The joint lab would also avoid the downside of disarmament. The U.S. and China would be able to enjoy all of the advantages of AI development without losing momentum.

Podcasts

On Lawfare Daily, Olivia Manes sits down with Mikhail Zygar to discuss the incentives underlying Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine, how Putin has clamped down on independent journalism, and global disillusionment with liberal democracy.

On Rational Security, Anna Bower, Kevin Frazier, and Tyler McBrien join Scott R. Anderson to talk about the week’s big national security news, including the ongoing legal battles over deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, the Trump administration’s rollback of AI guardrails, and reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared classified information in another Signal chat.

Videos

Earlier today, I spoke to Roger Parloff about two hearings he attended today regarding Trump's executive orders targeting law firms such as Perkins Coie and WilmerHale.

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Today’s #BeastOfTheDay is a 50 pound beaver on thin ice:

Video Source

In honor of today’s Beast, pick yourself back up again.

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Tell Me Something Interesting

The matter of Amalek was raised on #DogShirtTV today, and I (EJ Wittes) decided I had better investigate further.

So first of all, for reference purposes, the biblical passages under discussion are Deuteronomy 25:17-19:

“Remember what Amalek did to you along the way as you came out from Egypt— how he happened upon you along the way and attacked those among you in the rear, all the stragglers behind you, when you were tired and weary—he did not fear God. Now when Adonai your God grants you rest from all the enemies surrounding you in the land Adonai your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, you are to blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens. Do not forget!

and 1 Samuel 15:1-3:

Then Samuel said to Saul, “Adonai sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, listen to the voice of the words of Adonai! Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: ‘I remember what Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike down Amalek and put all he has under the ban of destruction—so have no pity on him; but kill both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

Which all sounds pretty genocidal. In the process of trying to figure out how genocidal it really is, I’ve read quite a bit about Amalek and Amalek-related scholarship in the last few hours. I haven’t learned anything very important from this research, but I have certainly been thoroughly entertained, because:

1. The famed rabbi and biblical commentator Rashi claimed that it was necessary to kill even the oxen and sheep of Amalek because “they were sorcerers, and they would change themselves to resemble animals.” (Source) I’m pretty certain that transforming into sheep constitutes removing your uniform, so the sorcerers of Amalek were likely not entitled to POW status if Rashi is correct.

2. There is deep division among Jewish scholars about the question of exactly how often an observant Jew must “remember what Amalek did to you,” with answers ranging from “every day” to “at least once in your life.” (See this article for details on the debate.) This is further complicated by the general agreement amongst scholars that the Amalekites no longer exist, and indeed have not existed since at least the 7th Century BCE. This, to my mind, makes remembering them daily somewhat excessive.

3. The Christian Post published this headline in 2017 (and I swear I didn’t make this up):

   

4. There are Amalekites in the Book of Mormon. Apparently, their presence in that document may be the result of a spelling error.