The "Chicken Sh*t Bingo" Edition

The "Chicken Sh*t Bingo" Edition

From Rational Security by The Lawfare Institute

April 2, 2026 · 1h 8m

About this episode

The episode discusses recent legal battles involving the Justice Department and Anthropic, as well as the impact of the Iran conflict on global supply chains.

This week, Scott sat down with his Lawfare colleagues Senior Editors Anna Bower, Kevin Frazier, and Kate Klonick to talk through the week’s big news in national security, including: “The X Post Facto Rule.” The Justice Department and lawyers representing Anthropic faced off last week in a Northern California courtroom over whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s X post and som related communications amounted to an official order and if the Pentagon’s supply chain risk designation retaliated against the company’s First Amendment-protected views, among other issues. On March 26, Judge Rita Lin, in that case, stayed the supply chain risk designation, ruling that the Pentagon had, in fact, retaliated unlawfully against Anthropic. We’re also waiting for another related decision from a D.C. Circuit panel, expected to come down any time now. What should we make of Judge Lin’s ruling, and do we expect the D.C. Circuit to follow suit? And what does it all mean for AI companies and their relationship with the government? “Strait Outta Options.” Oil, gas, helium, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizer—the ongoing conflict with Iran has upended global supply chains, with the Strait of Hormuz…

People in this episode

Host: Scott

Guests: Anna Bower, Kevin Frazier, Kate Klonick

Topics covered

  • national security
  • AI companies
  • government relations
  • global supply chains
  • Iran conflict
  • legal rulings

Keywords

  • national security
  • AI
  • legal issues
  • Iran
  • supply chain
  • First Amendment
  • Pentagon

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Justice Department, Anthropic

Places: Northern California, D.C., Strait of Hormuz, Gulf states

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