Episode 68: This Podcast Is Not Protected by the Attorney-Client Privilege

April 10, 2018

Welcome to episode 68!  On tap for this week:

  1. Tom Bossert is out, and Michael Cohen is in trouble.  We’ll talk mostly about the latter, with an emphasis on the way that attorney-client privilege law and procedure interacts with search warrants.
  2. Fresh CAATSA sanctions, this time targeting Russian oligarchs.  The Treasury Department is distinguishing itself as quite strong on Russia issues.
  3. The Syrian government again uses chemical weapons, and the Trump Administration hints at another military response. We’ll quickly review the domestic legal issues this scenario raises.
  4. Digression on non-disclosure and arbitration agreements: From whispers of lifelong-NDAs for White House personnel, to stories about law firms requiring summer associates to sign both non-disclosure and arbitration agreements, questions of transparency, procedure, and rights are in the air.
  5. Renewing the AUMF renewal debate:  The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, under the leadership of Sen. Corker, is about to get back in the game.  We preview some of the likely issues based on early reports, in anticipation of a bill going public on Thursday.
  6. Severstal Export (a subsidiary of a Russian steel company) has sued the Trump administration over its steel tariffs, urging the Court of International Trade to treat Trump’s stated national security justification as a pretext for protectionism.  It’s a lot like the Travel Ban litigation, but Severstal has lost round 1 already (with the CIT rejecting a request for a TRO).
  7. Doe v. Mattis and the 72-hour notice-before-transfer requirement: We recap last week’s oral argument, and we also wonder what is taking so long on the underlying merits dispute.
  8. The military commissions and Nashiri: things just got even more complicated, amazingly.

If you stick around that long, you will be treated to an appreciation of the amazing start to the season for the Amazin’ Mets (including a ranking of their starting pitchers).

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