Today on Lawfare: July 11, 2025

From The Lawfare Editorial Team

Compiled by Mary Ford

Articles

Russian and Ukrainian Peace Plans Remain a World Apart

Anastasiia Lapatina compared the most recent Russian and Ukrainian peace plans and explained that the plans clearly illustrate why President Trump’s belief in an imminent peace agreement was misguided.

To see how little Trump’s appeasement of Moscow has achieved toward ending the war, it’s useful to consider just how far apart the most recent Russian and Ukrainian peace plans are. The Russian peace “memorandum,” presented during the latest round of the U.S.-brokered peace talks in Istanbul, is the first formal, written account of Russia’s terms for peace since 2022, and it is a world apart from its Ukrainian counterpart. The memo reiterates most of the Kremlin’s previously voiced maximalist demands and is widely seen in Ukraine as effectively seeking its capitulation.

The Paramount and Global Law Firm Settlements With Trump Don’t Constitute Bribery

John Keller responded to claims that both Paramount Global’s $16 million settlement with President Trump and agreements between top global law firms and the Trump administration amounted to bribery. Keller argued that these scenarios threaten to erode constitutional rights, but are not instances of criminal bribery because they do not have a corrupt mens rea.

But despite the illegality of Trump’s attacks on law firms, the frivolity of his suit against Paramount, and the repugnance of the administration’s efforts to violate core constitutional protections, neither of these scenarios amounts to criminal bribery.

Bribery, as defined by federal law, is a corrupt offer to—or solicitation by—a public official of anything of value, in exchange for official action. Bribery requires a corrupt mens rea, which, while not defined precisely by the Supreme Court in the context of bribery, generally equates to a specific intent to trade a thing of value for an official act with a wrongful purpose.

An offer made merely to ingratiate or with a generalized hope of future official benefit is insufficient. Bribery law requires an unambiguous intent to influence a public official’s action through money or something else of value.

Four Key Players Drive Scattered Spider

In the latest edition of the Seriously Risky Business cybersecurity newsletter, Tom Uren detailed the successes of Scattered Spider, how leaks from Chinese cyber espionage firms are sold to the highest bidder, and more.

Scattered Spider is responsible for a number of significant, high-impact hacks that have left many victim organizations struggling to recover, sometimes for months. The group first achieved notoriety in 2023 for the hacks of Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International. Since May this year, the group is believed to have struck retailers in the U.K. and the U.S., insurance companies, and then airlines in quick succession. Overall, it's responsible for the compromise of hundreds of companies since 2022. It is financial cybercrime's apex predator.

Podcasts

Lawfare Daily: Bribery and the Second Trump Administration with John Keller: James Pearce spoke with John Keller about the basics of bribery law, if three instances from the start of the second Trump administration could plausibly be considered bribery, the dismissal of the criminal indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and more.

Video and Webinars

On July 11 at 4 pm ET, Benjamin Wittes sat down with Anna Bower, Roger Parloff, and Scott Anderson to discuss ongoing litigation targeting actions by the Trump administration. Material supporters received a link to join the webinar to watch it without ads. It was livestreamed on YouTube for all other viewers. Find the livestream here. If you couldn’t attend the live event, the recording will be available on Lawfare’s YouTube channel.

Announcements

The Trials of the Trump Administration, our coverage of Trump’s executive actions and their legal challenges, now includes a page devoted to tracking the status of Alien Enemies Act cases in federal courts. Find the page here.

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