Today on Lawfare: July 9, 2025
From The Lawfare Editorial Team
Compiled by Mary Ford
Articles
Renee DiResta revisited the results of the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russian election interference, arguing that CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s response to a recently released Tradecraft Review of the ICA report presents a not-so-subtle rewrite of historical narrative.
Notably, however, the new review did not dispute the conclusion itself: That the Russians had favored the election of Donald Trump was not in question, nor was the judgment that they aspired to help. The Tradecraft Review was a process critique, not a substantive refutation.
Still, the release was immediately spun as exactly that. CIA Director John Ratcliffe gave an exclusive to the New York Post, which packaged a tradecraft audit that reassessed a confidence level as proof that the 2016 ICA was a “politically corrupted” hit job designed to “screw Trump.”
A Return to In-House Weapons Development
Nicholas Weaver argued that it is time for the United States or another Western ally to revive in-sourced weapon development. Weaver examined the major roadblocks to efficient weapons development as well as the main points of the “Springfield Dronery,” a plan for a government-led operation focused on the development of low-cost, tightly integrated small drones.
It is time for the U.S. or another major Western country—such as a member of NATO or Five Eyes, South Korea, Japan, or Taiwan—to bring back the tradition of in-sourced weapons development. Below, I consider the “Springfield Dronery”—dedicated to developing, advancing, and producing small drones in a tightly integrated, low-cost, explicitly government-led operation.
Podcasts
Lawfare Daily: The Double Black Box: Ashley Deeks on National Security AI: Alan Rozenshtein was joined by Ashley Deeks, Class of 1948 Professor of Scholarly Research in Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, to discuss her most recent book, “The Double Black Box: National Security, Artificial Intelligence, and the Struggle for Democratic Accountability,” the use of AI in the national security space, and more.
Rational Security: The “Game Changers” Edition: Scott Anderson sat down with Molly Reynolds and Rozenshtein to talk through the contents of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” that was passed last week, letters the Justice Department sent to major American tech companies over the extension of the TikTok ban, the Supreme Court decision in CASA v. DHS, and more.
Video and Webinars
On July 11 at 4 pm ET, Wittes will sit down with Lawfare Senior Editors Anna Bower, Roger Parloff, and Anderson to discuss ongoing litigation. Material supporters will receive a link to join the webinar to watch it without ads. It will be livestreamed on YouTube for all other viewers. Find the livestream here. If you cannot attend the live event, the recording will be available on Lawfare’s YouTube channel.
Announcements
In partnership with the University of Texas School of Law, Kevin Frazier and Rozenshtein launched their new podcast series Scaling Laws, a podcast dedicated to navigating the complexities of artificial intelligence. Listen to the inaugural episode here, where they discuss the defeat in the Senate of a proposed moratorium on state and local regulation of artificial intelligence.
The Trials of the Trump Administration, our coverage of President Donald 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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