Lawfare (website)
Type of site | online multimedia publication |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Owner | The Lawfare Institute |
| Editors | Benjamin Wittes, Roger Parloff |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | September 1, 2010 |
| Current status | Active |
Lawfare is an American non-profit blog dedicated to national security issues, published by The Lawfare Institute in cooperation with the Brookings Institution.[1][2] It has received attention for articles on Donald Trump's presidency.
Background
[edit]Lawfare was founded as a blog in September 2010[3] by Benjamin Wittes (a former editorial writer for The Washington Post), Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith, and University of Texas at Austin law professor Robert Chesney.[2] Goldsmith was the head of the Office of Legal Counsel in the George W. Bush administration's Justice Department, and Chesney served on a detention-policy task force in the Obama administration.[2] Its writers include law professors, law students, and former George W. Bush and Barack Obama administration officials.[2]
On June 28, 2023, Wittes said that Lawfare has become "a full-featured multimedia magazine" rather than blog.[4]
Coverage of the Donald Trump presidency
[edit]Lawfare's coverage of intelligence and legal matters related to the Trump administration has brought the website significant increases in readership and national attention.[5][6]
Executive Order 13769
[edit]In January 2017 President Donald Trump tweeted "LAWFARE" and quoted a line from one of its posts that criticized the reasoning in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that blocked Trump's first refugee-and-travel ban.[2][7][8] The Lawfare piece called the ban "incompetent malevolence".[2] Trump tweeted the excerpt minutes after the line was quoted on Morning Joe.[7] Wittes, who supported the court ruling, criticized Trump for the tweet, asserting that Trump distorted the argument presented in the article.[8]
Dismissal of FBI Director James Comey
[edit]On May 18, 2017, Lawfare's editor-in-chief Benjamin Wittes was the principal source of an extensive New York Times report about President Trump's interactions with FBI Director James Comey, who is a friend of Wittes, and how those interactions related to Comey's subsequent firing.[9] Wittes also provided a 25-minute interview to PBS NewsHour on the same subject. According to him, Trump's hug "disgusted" Comey.[10] Wittes said Comey was not expecting a hug, adding "It was bad enough there was going to be a handshake."[9]
Trump's disclosure of classified intelligence
[edit]Several Lawfare contributors argued that Trump's reported disclosure of classified intelligence to Russia in mid-May 2017 was "perhaps the gravest allegation of presidential misconduct in the scandal-ridden four months of the Trump administration". The column further alleged that Trump's reported actions "may well be a violation of the President's oath of office".[11][12]
Reception
[edit]Columnist David Ignatius described Lawfare as "one of the most fair-minded chroniclers of national security issues".[13]
The website has been criticized by attorney and journalist Glenn Greenwald. He said it has a "courtier Beltway mentality" devoted to "serving, venerating and justifying the acts of those in power".[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Lawfare". Lawfare. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g Bazelon, Emily (March 14, 2017). "How a Wonky National-Security Blog Hit the Big Time". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
- ^ "About Lawfare: A Brief History of the Term and the Site". Lawfare. May 14, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
- ^ "Welcome to Lawfare's Shiny New Website". Lawfare. June 28, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ Abbruzzese, Jason (May 26, 2017). "This blog has become required reading in Trump's America". Mashable. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ "Chesney's Lawfare Blog Makes Headlines, Reaches 10 Million People a Year". The University of Texas at Austin School of Law. May 30, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ a b "Trump quotes legal blog to argue travel ban ruling is 'a disgraceful decision'". Politico. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
- ^ a b "Trump rips 'disgraceful' court decision in immigration ban". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
- ^ a b Schmidt, Michael S. (May 18, 2017). "Comey, Unsettled by Trump, Is Said to Have Wanted Him Kept at a Distance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ "Comey 'disgusted' by Trump hug, considered White House 'not honorable,' friend says". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ "Bombshell: Initial Thoughts on the Washington Post's Game-Changing Story". Lawfare. May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ Dubenko, Anna (May 16, 2017). "Right and Left React to Trump's Sharing Classified Information With Russia, and More". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ^ Ignatius, David; Ignatius, David (May 16, 2017). "Trump's presidency is beginning to unravel". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- "Lawfare Institute Internal Revenue Service filings". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.