Jack Goldsmith
Lawfare
Cambridge, MA, United States
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Past articles by Jack:
Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, Part 2: What to Do If the FSIA Does Not Apply?
Part 2 of a two-part series on oral arguments in Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, a case that raises the question whether the U.S. government can criminally prosecute corporations owned by foreign states. → Read More
Prosecuting Trump: A Reply to Josh Marshall
Even if one focuses narrowly on the rule of law, caution is still warranted. → Read More
Thoughts on the Mar-a-Lago Search
I have long worried (here, and, more recently, here) about the adverse consequences of the Biden Justice Department using criminal process against former President Donald Trump. I have also long worried (spurred by Garrett Graff) about the mischief, and potential criminal liability, that Trump might stir up after his presidency with access to classified information. Here are some thoughts… → Read More
Forty-Seven Years of Feckless Digging
Thoughts on the Anniversary of Jimmy Hoffa’s Disappearance → Read More
Emergency Powers Reform Within Grasp
There is clear bipartisan support for National Emergencies Act reform with an IEEPA exclusion. → Read More
Inspector General Reform on the Table
A selective guide to the upcoming debates on inspector general reform → Read More
A Strange Defense of the Biden Moratorium Extension Mess
A response to Neil Eggleston. → Read More
The Anatomy of a Screw Up: The Biden Eviction Moratorium Saga
The Biden administration’s rule-of-law credibility is the big loser; and the Supreme Court’s shadow docket the big winner. → Read More
Empty Threats and Warnings on Cyber
On July 9, President Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States will take “any necessary action,” including imposing unspecified “consequences,” if Russia does not disrupt ransomware attacks from its soil. The problem with this warning is that the United States has been publicly pledging to impose “consequences” on Russia for its cyber actions for at least five years. → Read More
Trump and the Pardon Attorney
President Trump bypassed the traditional pardon attorney process more often than any other president. Our new essay in the Federal Sentencing Reporter evaluates how many of Trump’s 238 clemency grants were recommended by the pardon attorney. → Read More
'Defend Forward' and Sovereignty
Among the most discussed provisions of the Tallinn Manual 2.0 is Rule 4: “Violation of sovereignty.” Rule 4 provides: “A State must not conduct cyber operations that violate the sovereignty of another State.” Considered alone, Rule 4 is banal and unobjectionable, since there are many established sovereignty-based international-law rules that cyber operations might violate. For → Read More
Executive Branch Legal Process and the Self-Pardon
Trump could consult the Office of Legal Counsel, the White House Counsel, personal attorneys—or no one at all. → Read More
Can Trump Be Stopped?
President Trump’s incitement of insurrection stands out as the worst presidential behavior in America’s two century history. How can he be kept from doing more damage with only two weeks left in his term? → Read More
Quick Thoughts on the Russia Hack
This most recent breach constitutes a stunning display of the U.S. government’s porous defenses of sensitive government networks and databases. → Read More
The Glut of High-Stakes Cross-Party, Cross-Administration Investigations
The news about the federal investigations of Hunter Biden highlights the growing spate of politically fraught federal law enforcement investigations of prominent political officials or their family members. → Read More
Can Trump Sell U.S. National Security Secrets With Impunity?
The prospect is a nightmare for the intelligence services. → Read More
The Puzzle of the GRU Indictment
Why does the Justice Department laud indictments that communicate weakness? → Read More
How To Respond to the Trump Tax Disclosures
The nation should never again rely on norms to ensure that presidents disclose their finances fully or to guard against conflicts of interest between public duties and private gain. → Read More
Why We Wrote ‘After Trump’
Donald Trump operated the presidency in ways that reveal its vulnerability to dangerous excesses of authority and dangerous weaknesses in accountability. "After Trump" explains what should be done to mend the presidency after Trump leaves the scene. → Read More
The Senate Russia Report and the Imperative of Legal Reform
The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report calls on political campaigns to build protections against becoming channels for illicit foreign state influence. But lawmakers should also consider reforming the law. → Read More