Tyler McBrien
@tylermcbrien.com
Managing Editor at Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org Signal - tylermcbrien.97 Writing in the New York Times, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Slate, Mother Jones, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and more: www.tylermcbrien.com
On Lawfare Daily, @tylermcbrien.com spoke to Bernice Yeung about the bumpy history of Big Tech’s relationship with U.S. defense contracting, how Silicon Valley has reshaped the Pentagon, and how, in turn, the Pentagon has reshaped Silicon Valley. youtu.be/D9jOHF-EcBY
Huge thanks to Bernice Yeung for joining me on the @lawfaremedia.org podcast to discuss her recent @thebulletin.org feature, "The Rise of the Military-Technology Complex," which traces the long, on-again off-again on-again relationship between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon.
Activists across the US are increasingly targeting private contractors involved in ICE detention. inkstickmedia.com/are-your-inv...
Are Your Investments Fueling For-Profit Immigrant Detention?
Activists around the US are turning toward divestment as ICE increasingly relies on for-profit companies to handle immigrant detention.
inkstickmedia.com
On Lawfare Daily, @tylermcbrien.com hosted a series of conversations from the 2026 Aspen Security Forum, where he sat down with @markleongoldberg.bsky.social, @kschake.bsky.social, @alexzerden.bsky.social, and Alexandra Bell. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...
Wow, a federal judge just ruled in favor of the CFTC, Kalshi, and Polymarket, temporarily barring the state of Minnesota from enforcing its prediction market statute until final decision on the merits is reached. (h/t @seamushughes.bsky.social)
NEW: Mon 6/27 @ 3:30pm, Van Hollen & Blumenthal will hold a public forum on "Trump's Crypto Corruption" to show how his "greed and recklessness have supercharged foreign influence and bribery" and make the case agnst crypto regulation allowing "Trump to corruptly enrich himself"
JUST IN: A day after the 2nd Circuit upheld the detention of Columbia activist Mohsen Mahdawi, the 4th Circuit goes the other way, upholding the *release* of Georgetown research Badar Khan Suri. 2-1 ruling. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/28...
BREAKING: Justice Department agrees to withdraw subpoenas issued to New York Times reporters in leak investigation related to new Air Force One jet. Withdrawal of subpoenas follows hearing before NY federal judge, who indicated he was inclined to quash the subpoenas.
I should add that this is exactly what @nkorpett.bsky.social and James Pearce predicted in their May 2025 @lawfaremedia.org piece, "The Law Firms’ Deals with Trump Are Even Riskier Than They Seem"
Tyler McBrien@tylermcbrien.com · 2w agoINBOX: Sens. Blumenthal, Raskin, & Schiff sent another letter to Skadden seeking records/info related to the law firm's "profoundly troubling agreement" with the Trump admin and reporting on apparent conflicts of interest related to the admin's 10% equity stake in Intel.
INBOX: Sens. Blumenthal, Raskin, & Schiff sent another letter to Skadden seeking records/info related to the law firm's "profoundly troubling agreement" with the Trump admin and reporting on apparent conflicts of interest related to the admin's 10% equity stake in Intel.
NEW: Today the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals held that the district court lacked the authority to release Mohsen Mahdawi in April 2025 following his arrest from his citizenship interview. The 2nd Cir vacates the order and remands to the district court to dismiss the petition.
NEW: Today, Rep. Garcia and Sen. Blumenthal requested DHS Sec Mullin provide info and records related to two recent fatal ICE shootings, incidents which raise questions about whether ICE made promised reforms "and how ICE is using the massive funding that Congress appropriated"
Major new report from PHR and @hrcberkeley.bsky.social documented 412 times between 06/25-26 that immigration enforcement officers used excessive force or misused crowd-control weapons on protesters. Nearly half of all victims had "explicit legal protections" or required "special caution."
Today in federal court, Mahmoud Khalil sued the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission, Betar, & senior Trump admin officials under the KKK Act of 1871, alleging they conspired to deprive him of his constitutional rights while carrying out a coordinated plan called "Project Esther."
Ruling in Trump v. IRS today, Judge Williams writes: "The nature of the suit [and] conduct of the Parties...make plain that this was an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity" to Trump affiliates and to earmark billions from U.S. taxpayers
NEW: On TUESDAY, July 14 at noon, Mahmoud Khalil will hold a press conference in Foley Square (NYC) to announce a new federal lawsuit. He will be represented by @ccrjustice.org and Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLC.
Many thanks to @carissaveliz.bsky.social for talking to me about her excellent new book “Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI,” which is as much a timely critique of Big Tech and surveillance capitalism as it is a treatise on living life well
Lawfare@lawfaremedia.org · 4w agoOn Lawfare Daily, @tylermcbrien.com talked to @carissaveliz.bsky.social about her new book, “Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI,” why a healthy democracy—and a life well lived—requires uncertainty, and more. youtu.be/Ur-UPmjFxFs
"The sheer investigative chops...make it worth a listen but its most profound takeaway is also the ultimate ironic twist. A band of journalists managed to pierce the heart of an enduring local mystery only to discover that many people prefer the mystery to the truth." - @goodtape.com
INBOX: @hindrajabfoundation.be & @ccrjustice.org sent a letter to NYAG Letitia James urging her to open a criminal investigation into Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ahead of his NYC visit July 7-8, alleging harm to NY residents by Israeli Prison Service among other accusations
I'm headed to the Aspen Security Forum July 14-17 and planning to record a series of interviews for the @lawfaremedia.org podcast — if any friends or colleagues also going would like to join me on the podcast, have guest ideas, or just want to grab a coffee, let me know!
INBOX: Sen. Blumenthal sent a letter to Acting AG Todd Blanche demanding information and documents related to the Trump administriation commuting David Gentile’s sentence and the "subsequent closure" of DOJ/EDNY's investigation into potential misconduct regarding that commutation
Blumenthal, Merkley, Schiff, Murphy, Warren, & 12 more Dem senators urged the Senate financial services subcommittee to prohibit the CFTC from meddling in states' ability to regulate prediction markets, which "have led to underage gambling...addiction...and financial losses."
Reminds me of when @muira.bsky.social employed a clever yet, shall we say, *unorthodox* method—Tinder—to speak candidly with U.S. personnel stationed at the Guantánamo Bay detention center - from Muira McCammon's 2021 Logic essay, "Zoomers Versus the National Security State" (link below)
huck mason@tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · last mo.oh my god
INBOX: Today, @weareoversight.bsky.social sued DOJ to expedite its FOIA request for documents related to Todd Blanche's role in 1) Trump admin's release of the Epstein files and 2) reported attempt to bury Special Counsel Jack Smith's report, ahead of Blanche's 7/15 AG confirmation hearing
I, too, was lucky enough to interview the talented and gracious Jasper Craven about his new book, "God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood" for the @lawfaremedia.org podcast — links to watch or listen below!
Lawfare@lawfaremedia.org · last mo.On Lawfare Daily, @tylermcbrien.com talked to Jasper Craven about his new book, “God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood," how military education helps explain our current political moment, and so much more. youtu.be/HpEbFCZYoGU
Just got the most amazing phishing email from "12 Elite naval personnel" of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit
Wild: to meet senior leader demands to sharply increase detention capacity, ICE & Army turned to a pool of contractors w/ no "prior experience providing detention services" to run Camp East Montana—then awarded a contract but "did not review the contractor's approach" beforehand
