I’m testifying today on supply chain vulnerabilities and cybersecurity. The testimony is in a hearing held by the House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Here’s my quick diagnosis of the issue: Intrusions on our networks have reached new heights. They have moved from penetration of government and military systems to wholesale compromises of companies, trade […]
Archive | Uncategorized
A Really Dumb Scalia Footnote
Stuart and Jonathan have both commented on the legal analysis in today’s City of Arlington v. FCC opinion from the Supreme Court, about which I have nothing to say. I want to direct your attention to footnote 1 in Justice Scalia’s opinion for the majority. He has just introduced one of the parties, “CTIA-The Wireless […]
Agencies and Legislative/Judicial Power
City of Arlington v. FCC has some interesting nuggets. For instance, Scalia’s majority flatly states: “Make no mistake—the ultimate target here is Chevron itself,” though the dissent disclaims any such intent. But I want to flag here another iteration of debates over how to characterize agencies’ power. Roberts’ dissent says that Although modern administrative agencies fit […]
Expecting the Next Crisis
My review of Vern McKinley’s book Financing Failure: A Century of Bailouts has been posted at the Law & Liberty blog.
The Sixth Circuit Really Blewett
On Friday, Jonathan pointed out United States v. Blewett, the new Sixth Circuit decision on the 100-1 crack-cocaine sentencing disparity. Jonathan described the issue in that case as being whether the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act applied retroactively. But the most remarkable part of Blewett actually decides a different question that was neither briefed nor argued: […]
More on the AP Leak Investigation
Over at MotherJones, Kevin Drum has an interesting post on the AP leak investigation: Here’s Why the Government Went Ballistic Over the AP Leak. Also, over at Slate, Emily Bazelon and former VC blogger Eric Posner debate whether the subpoenas of the AP records were justified. Eric gets the better of the argument, I think, […]
IRS Disclosure Was Planted
From the moment of the initial disclosure of IRS targeting of conservative groups, observers have speculated about the timing and location of the disclosure. Could this really have been an unplanned, impromptu remark? No. In fact, the question was planted and Lois Lerner’s statement was pre-planned. As additional information trickles it out, it is also […]
A Few Words About “Friend of the Court”
Floyd Abrams was invited to say a few words about his latest book Friend of the Court: On the Front Lines with the First Amendment (Yale University Press, 2013). His comments are set forth below. When one tries to determine which of his articles, speeches, testimony, letters, reviews and the like over a 45-year period […]
Joining Twitter
After years of resistance, I have finally joined Twitter. Perhaps, as the Borg would say, resistance is futile and assimilation into Twitter is inevitable. For readers who may be interested, my Twitter username is IlyaSomin. Despite this capitulation, I will not be completely assimilated into the Twitterverse. Given my rational ignorance about pop culture other […]
Did AP Disclosure Truly Compromise National Security?
The Washington Post reports on reasons for some skepticism about the seriousness of the leak that prompted the seizure of AP phone records.
Overreaching on the IRS Scandal
The targeting of Tea Party and other right-leaning groups by the IRS is a major scandal. Yet, as Walter Olson notes, some of the Administration’s critics have gone a bit overboard trying to tie the scandal to the White House. It’s one thing to note the lopsided political contributions of IRS employees, including those in […]
No, the IRS Is Not an “Independent Agency”
Responding to press questions about the IRS scandal, White House spokesperson Jay Carney claimed that the IRS is an “independent agency.” At the Federalist Society’s new Executive Branch Review blog, former Assistant Attorney General Eileen O’Connor, who oversaw the Justice Department’s Tax Division, explains that Carney was quite wrong on this point. Most Executive Branch […]
DOJ Clarifies That Only “A Portion” of Two Months of Telephone Records Were Collected
Most of the reporting on the DOJ investigation into the leak to the AP has said that the DOJ obtained two months of telephone records. The claim of a two-month period comes from the AP’s own reporting about what DOJ disclosed to the AP in its notice about the collection. The AP story began: “The […]
Floyd Abrams & the First Amendment: The Risks of Liberty
Here is the last installment before Mr. Abrams’s post. Thanks to Eugene for having me and thanks to all for the comments (critical ones included) from your readers. RC “Our approach under the First Amendment has wisely, I think, generally been to risk suffering the harm that speech may do in order to avoid the […]
Senate Judiciary Committee Unanimously Approves Sri Srinivasan for DC Circuit Spot
News here.