Good Evening:
I seldom post pictures of myself, but this screenshot from a Zoom meeting today made me smile.
Today on #DogShirtTV, I talked about all the ways the FBI is currently resisting Trump. We are pro-Deep State here, guys. The Deep State is resisting the elected representatives of the American people, and that’s a good thing. The estimable Jonathan Rauch also dropped in to discuss how electorates respond to government corruption:
Today On Lawfare
Will Employees Who Resign Have a Remedy?
Nick Bednar explains that, given the lack of congressionally appropriated funding and a past Supreme Court decision that did not hold the government liable for an unlawful agreement, federal employees resigning by means of the “deferred resignation program” risk having no viable recourse should the administration renege on its promises:
Courts will not approach a lawsuit that seeks to enforce the terms of the deferred resignation program through the ordinary lens of contract law. Instead, they will be guided by the law that governs estoppel in cases involving federal agencies. To understand whether federal employees have a remedy in such a situation, we need to ask two questions: First, do federal agencies have the legal authority to agree to the payment of a future salary? No. The Anti-Deficiency Act prohibits agencies from obligating funds that have not yet been appropriated. Second, if the agencies lack this authority, can a court still order the federal government to pay the amount owed to the employees based on their misrepresentation of the program’s legality? Probably not. The Supreme Court has refused to recognize estoppel in cases involving federal employees who receive erroneous information about the law surrounding their pay and benefits.
Corruption Sanctions Are Worth the Investment
Brad Brooks-Rubin and Richard Nephew argue that the United States and allies underutilize sanctions on corrupt actors, which are uniquely able to target and impose financial consequences on individuals. Brooks-Rubin and Nephew further suggest measures the U.S. might take to increase the use of corruption sanctions domestically and internationally:
The great debate over sanctions is whether they “work,” given their costs, which can be found in lost economic activity, unintended consequences, or the long-term erosion of a country’s economic competitiveness. Sanctions on corrupt actors frequently represent an exception to these critiques. They play an essential role in promoting responsible investment and helping to level playing fields in developing economies. Still, sanctions remain underinvested in by the United States, European Union, and other Group of Seven (G7) partner governments. This should change.
Podcasts
On Lawfare Daily, Scott Anderson speaks to George Ingram, Tony Pipa, and Jonathan Katz—all of whom are alumni of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)—about the Trump administration’s attempts to absorb the agency into the Department of State and freeze all foreign assistance:
Today’s #BeastOfTheDay is the walrus, which joins us today to remind us about the dangers of online misinformation, a scourge infecting every aspect of our media consumption:
The walrus, seen here asleep on a Russian submarine, was going to be today’s Beast without added commentary. It was just going to be a big Beast that fell asleep on top of a submarine. But when I (EJ Wittes) went looking for this image, I found that it was doctored. Today’s Beast really did fall asleep on top of a Russian submarine in 2006, but the image above, which has been shared over a hundred thousand times across multiple platforms, has been debunked by Snopes:
As far as we can tell, this walrus really did take a nap aboard the K-186 Omsk, a Russian submarine, while the sub was being repaired off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The original photograph, as well as several others we found featuring the same walrus sleeping atop the submarine, carried a time stamp of 16 May 2006:
But the most popular image connected to this encounter appears to have been doctored. While the walrus is real, the man shown standing behind the animal with his arms raised high and flashing peace signs was not in the original photograph.
Here's the original photograph (left) and the doctored version (right). Notice how the waves match up in both images. It appears that the man was simply inserted into the background of the original picture:
In honor of today’s Beast, remember to check your sources. Even seemingly innocuous pictures of sleepy Beasts may be deceiving you. Also in honor of today’s Beast, take a nap. Naps are nice.
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