Asha Rangappa
- Legal Contributor, ABC News (Australia)
- Editor, Just Security
- Co-Host, It's Complicated (Podcast)
New Haven
Fmr FBI Special Agent, lawyer, @JacksonYale. Tiger(ish) mom. @abc legal contributor. Editor @just_security. Steam mop influencer. Views mine.
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Articles by Asha Rangappa
Shock, Rationalize, Repeat
Mary Trump: I had a chance recently to sit down with Asha Rangappa, a former FBI agent and senior lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs. She’s also the proprietor of the excellent Substack, The Freedom Academy. We talked about a psychology experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram in the early 1960s and what it can tell us about the total capitulation of the Republican Party. Enjoy. Let’s start here. How are you doing? Asha Rangappa: I’m doing okay.
Asha Rangappa Breaks Down Trump's Midterm Interference Playbook | The Frank Figliuzzi Show
Donald Trump has spent weeks trying to convince supporters the next election can’t be trusted. Frank warns the real danger isn’t just rhetoric — it’s what comes after it. (Just look at Jan. 6.) To tackle this heady topic, Frank is joined by Asha Rangappa, a former FBI special agent and current Yale professor who writes The Freedom Academy on Substack.
How Trump Keeps Exploiting America’s Legal Loopholes Original
In his first term, legal experts about the invincible sanctity of our democratic and legal processes that President Donald Trump regularly attempts to exploit. But in his second term, Trump has been much savvier about the guardrails that stopped him in the past by exploiting legal loopholes. Many CEOs say they believe in investing where there is the rule of law, not the law of rulers, but what if they become one and the same because of a president’s underestimated, if devious, cleverness?
The Freedom Academy with Asha Rangappa
Why our most vital institutions should be placed in a constitutional vault - beyond the reach of any President. I was on a panel at Princeton a week ago during my reunion called, “Shifting Global Powers: What Comes Next?” It was a good discussion, but primarily focused on the first part of the title. During the Q & A, an audience member called us on it. “So, what comes next?” he asked.
An FBI Director on the Rocks
(Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images) There are times in the Trump era where you sort of know something, intuitively, but then when an actual report comes out putting in black and white, it’s especially jarring because it’s even worse than you thought. That’s how I felt reading Sarah Fitzpatrick’s report in The Atlantic of panic within the FBI resulting from Director Kash Patel’s alleged drinking habits.
An FBI Director on the Rocks
There are times in the Trump era where you sort of know something, intuitively, but then when an actual report comes out putting in black and white, it’s especially jarring because it’s even worse than you thought. That’s how I felt reading Sarah Fitzpatrick’s report in The Atlantic of panic within the FBI resulting from Director Kash Patel’s alleged drinking habits.
Swalwell and the Politics of Counterintelligence
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Last weekend, The Washington Postreported that FBI Director Kash Patel had assigned agents in the San Francisco field office to review the counterintelligence files of a case involving Representative Eric Swalwell and a suspected Chinese spy, Christine Fang, from 2011 to 2015.
Swalwell and the Politics of Counterintelligence
Last weekend, The Washington Post reported that FBI Director Kash Patel had assigned agents in the San Francisco field office to review the counterintelligence files of a case involving Representative Eric Swalwell and a suspected Chinese spy, Christine Fang, from 2011 to 2015.
Anthropic v. The Pentagon: A Battle of Values
Trump claimed to have “fired” the AI startup Anthropic last week after negotiations with the Pentagon imploded because of the company’s internal red lines on how its technology could be used. Specifically, Anthropic wanted to include as part of any contract with the Defense Department (sorry, I refuse to call it the War Department) a caveat that Anthropic’s artificial intelligence would not be used to surveil Americans or to create fully autonomous weapons.
Did the Clintons Turn the Tables in the Game of Epstein Chicken?
There’s a foreign policy term called “escalation dominance.” It’s a strategic concept that refers to one party’s ability to increase the potential consequences in a conflict to a degree that leaves the adversary unable to respond or compete, forcing them to back down or admit defeat. The recent showcase showdown between Rep.
Live from Princeton: A Contrarian Quartet
Contrarian stalwarts Norm Eisen, Asha Rangappa, and Jen Rubin join Harry for a special episode filmed in front of a live audience at Princeton University. They begin with the cataclysmic fall of the Washington Post and what it shows about Trump's power to demolish even the most powerful civic institutions. From there, they turn to the deportation effort, which seems to be running itself into the ground, and Trump's latest noises about election interference.
Will Trump Send the Military to Seize Voting Machines?
Get more from Allison Gill in the Substack app Available for iOS and Android
Decoding the DOJ Word Salad on Venezuela
(Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images) My charge for this week was to offer an explainer on the Office of Legal Counsel memo justifying the Trump administration’s military action in Venezuela, code-named Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE. Having now read, and reread, the “memo” several times, I’m not entirely sure I can fulfill this task. The OLC opinion is largely incoherent – partly because it is heavily redacted, but mostly because the author, Assistant Attorney General T.
Decoding the DOJ Word Salad on Venezuela
My charge for this week was to offer an explainer on the Office of Legal Counsel memo justifying the Trump administration’s military action in Venezuela, code-named Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE. Having now read, and reread, the “memo” several times, I’m not entirely sure I can fulfill this task. The OLC opinion is largely incoherent – partly because it is heavily redacted, but mostly because the author, Assistant Attorney General T.
Critical Flashpoints in the Minnesota Case - with Asha Rangappa
Talking Feds Live is a home for all of Harry’s live videos, from conversations with other Substack authors to weekly “Is it Legal?” deep-dives. Talking Feds Live is a separate subscription from Harry's written columns. You can opt in or out of email notifications for it by visiting https://harrylitman.substack.com/account. Talking Feds Live is a home for all of Harry’s live videos, from conversations with other Substack authors to weekly “Is it Legal?” deep-dives.
Friday Round Up! 1/9/26
Part of the firearms training I took at the FBI Academy in Quantico involved something called the Firearms Training Simulator (FATS). Weirdly, I had done FATS once even before training to become a special agent, when I worked at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Baltimore my first summer in law school: one of our “field trips” was going to the firing range with the ATF.
Friday Round Up! 12/26/25
I hope those who celebrate had a wonderful Christmas. Although I’m Hindu, Christmas has always been a part of my life — after my parents came here from India one of the ways they wanted to help me and my sister assimiliate was by doing the whole Santa/tree thing (plus let’s face it, we Hindus love lights).
No, It's Not Sedition, It's the Law.
I’m am co-publishing my notes for CAFE Insider right here on my Substack, so you can get them immediately! Get insights from myself and other legal experts by following The Counsel Podcast from CAFE. “The threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here right at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.
No, It’s Not Sedition. It’s the Law
“The threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here right at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.” These were the reminders included in a video released last week by Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, along with five other Democratic House members who also previously served in the military.
Playing Defense on Sports Betting: Is It Too Late to Regulate?
The Justice Department offered a glimmer of hope that it is still doing some of the things it used to do before being tasked to prosecute Trump’s enemies and help ICE with their immigration enforcement – namely, investigating and prosecuting complex financial crimes.
So You’ve Decided to Target Random People with Military Force
So far, the Trump administration has killed twenty-one people using military strikes in the Caribbean.
When the FBI Director is Looking Out for Number One
It’s been a week since the tragic on-campus shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, and so far, there are still more questions than answers about the alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, and his motive.
When the FBI Director is Looking Out for Number One
It’s been a week since the tragic on-campus shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, and so far, there are still more questions than answers about the alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, and his motive.
The scramble to protect Guatemalan migrant children and the state of freedom
The July 4th weekend and Labor Day weekend had common themes: emergency litigation over Trump’s immigration agenda. Contextualizing the important stories never takes a holiday. Shortly after 1 a.m. on Sunday, immigration lawyers filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from whisking more than 600 unaccompanied children to Guatemala. The attorneys filed a motion shortly after that suggesting that the children’s imminent deportation was two to four hours away. U.S. District Judge Sparkle L.
What Americans need to know about the Bolton FBI search
On Friday, F.B.I. agents searched the home and office of President Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, to determine whether he illegally shared or possessed classified information. Unauthorized possession and disclosure of national defense information is indeed a crime, and anyone who engages in such acts should be prosecuted.
The emperor strikes back—but Trump's revenge and deflection aren’t public protection Original
Deflection is not protection, unless you are President Donald Trump, desperate to divert national attention away from your own self-inflicted crises, failures, and ongoing legal problems. Sounding false alarms over public safety despite falling crime rates, Trump is manufacturing misinformation to lead a dangerous military war on his own American cities as a dodge from accountability while, paradoxically, degrading public safety.
The Bolton Search Feels Hinky. Here’s Why.
There’s a concept in the law called the “presumption of regularity” – the idea that, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, executive branch employees are presumed to have acted in good faith and through the proper channels in arriving at an outcome. The presumption is typically applied by the courts in reviewing agency decisions, but the principle can be applied to how, ideally, we should think about government actions more broadly.
The Bolton Search Feels Hinky. Here's Why.
There’s a concept in the law called the “presumption of regularity” – the idea that, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, executive branch employees are presumed to have acted in good faith and through the proper channels in arriving at an outcome. The presumption is typically applied by the courts in reviewing agency decisions, but the principle can be applied to how, ideally, we should think about government actions more broadly.
What Americans Need to Know About the Bolton FBI Search
On Friday, F.B.I. agents searched the home and office of President Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, to determine whether he illegally shared or possessed classified information. Unauthorized possession and disclosure of national defense information is indeed a crime, and anyone who engages in such acts should be prosecuted.
Opinion | John Bolton, Trump and the Crisis of Trust in Federal Law Enforcement Original
On Friday, F.B.I. agents searched the home and office of President Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, to determine whether he illegally shared or possessed classified information. Unauthorized possession and disclosure of national defense information is indeed a crime, and anyone who engages in such acts should be prosecuted.
Friday Round Up! 8/15/25
I’m not going to lie, I normally love being right. However, it is much less satisfying when it happens with respect to a gloomy prediction about the rule of law here in America. Last week I explained why I thought that the FBI as we knew it was over. But that transformation is happening even faster than I expected.
Live with Asha Rangappa and Joyce Vance
As promised, for those of you who weren’t able to join us live this afternoon, here’s the video from my chat with former FBI agent and current Yale lecturer Asha Rangappa for an important conversation about the hollowing out of the FBI and DOJ, and how we see that playing out as Trump seems increasingly set on a course of deploying the military and the National Guard for domestic law enforcement purposes.
The FBI As We Knew It is Gone
In February, I wrote a piece for Substack called “A Battle for the Soul of the FBI.” That battle is (pretty much) over, and I’m sad to say that the FBI — at least the one we knew — lost. Weirdly, I’m writing this on the same evening that William Webster, the FBI’s third director, died at the age of 101, a little more than a century after the FBI’s first and longest-serving director, J. Edgar Hoover, was appointed to lead the agency.
A Ghislaine Maxwell Pardon Won't End the Epstein Saga
There are a lot of things about Trump 2.0 that are very different from the first time aroundā¦but there are also other things that give me deja vu. One of those things is the possibility of Trump pardoning convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. We know that Trump is generally trigger happy when it comes to pardons.
Opinion | The immunity ruling was ostensibly to protect former presidents. So much for that.
“A rule for the ages.” This is what Justice Neil Gorsuch claimed the Supreme Court was deciding when it heard oral arguments on President Donald Trump's claim of “absolute immunity” in April 2024. Two months later, the court did indeed hand down such a rule, endorsing Trump’s view that a former president cannot be criminally indicted for “official acts” carried out during the course of his presidency.
Trump's TikTok Power Grab Is More Dangerous Than You Think
It’s been easy to see the extra-constitutional expansion of executive power happening in a lot of different contexts under the second Trump administration: forced disappearances of migrants to foreign countries without due process; the impoundment of federal funds; the deployment of military into American streets as domestic law enforcement.
Emergency Episode: TACO FELL!
The Borowitz Report Podcast Andy Borowitz hosts short interviews with notable people in the news. Andy Borowitz hosts short interviews with notable people in the news.
Federalizing the National Guard
I’m am co-publishing my notes for CAFE Insider right here on my Substack, so you can get them immediately! Listen to this note and get insights from myself and other legal experts by following The Counsel Podcast from CAFE. Dear Reader, We have known for a while that Trump has been itching to use military force in civilian settings, and he’s finally found an opportunity in the ICE protests currently taking place in Los Angeles.
Federalizing the National Guard: A Primer and What Comes Next
We have known for a while that Trump has been itching to use military force in civilian settings, and he’s finally found an opportunity in the ICE protests currently taking place in Los Angeles. On Saturday, President Trump issued a presidential memorandum, federalizing the National Guard, putting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in charge, and bypassing California Governor Gavin Newsom in the process.
Trump goes "rogue" on student protest: Ex-FBI agent Asha Rangappa
Discover how the law shapes your communities, and unlock the power of informed civic engagement. A former FBI counterintelligence agent, prominent legal commentator Asha Rangappa knows the proper way to effectuate an arrest, and it’s not the “disorienting and alarming” way she says the Trump administration has been going about it with student protesters.
Coffee with The Contrarians 05/21
Archive of live conversations with special guests on news essential to safeguarding against autocracy. Get your morning dose of democracy on Coffee with The Contrarians, with Co-founders Jen Rubin and Norm Eisen. Jared Bernstein answers your questions about all things economy on Let's Do Lunch. Plus, breaking legal and political news. Archive of live conversations with special guests on news essential to safeguarding against autocracy.
The U.S. is Open for Business, and the Constitution Can’t Fix It
I’m old enough to remember when it was a scandal that Trump had been secretly negotiating a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow while he was campaigning for President in his first term. Yeah, I know that was back in Season 1, when the plot was relatively more straightforward, and the writers hadn’t yet come up with more colorful characters like “Big Balls” or create a government run by the anchors at Fox News.
Friday Round Up! 5/16/25
Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued a ruling granting a temporary restraining order to detainees who are being held pending removal under the Alien Enemies Act in the Norther District of Texas. If you’re having trouble following along on the court cases involving the AEA, you aren’t the only one. I had to refer to at overview of the AEA litigation across the country to get a handle on it.
Friday Round Up! 5/9/25
On the first day of my National Security Law class, I spend the entire time going through the powers allocated to Congress and the President in Articles I and II and what it tells us about the balance of power among the branches when it comes to national security. It’s a fun exercise, because my students have typically not looked at the Constitution through this lens before.
Contrarian Pet of the Week
We told you we wanted to have fun, and we take fun seriously at The Contrarian. Each week we will share The Contrarian pet(s) of the week. (The pet need not be contrarian.) Subscribers are invited to submit their furry friend! Name: Pancake Age: 2 1/2 Breed: Maine Coon Hobbies: Playing fetch with hair ties and other random objects, Olympic-level high jumps with feather toy, sneak attack from dining table chairs, stretching out for tummy rubs.
Asha Rangappa and Vanita Gupta on Fighting Corruption and Protecting Civil Society
Jen Rubin moderated the fourth panel of our ‘100 Days Conference’ Fighting Corruption and Protecting Civil Society with Asha Rangappa and Vanita Gupta. Together, they discuss the role that civil society plays in pushing back against authoritarian threats. is an Assistant Dean and Senior Lecturer at the Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Previously, she served as a former Special Agent of the FBI, specializing in counterintelligence investigations.
Friday Round Up! 4/25/25
I’m currently in the U.K. attending the Cambridge Disinformation Summit, and was looking forward to posting about some of the interesting disinformation research that was presented that dovetails with the the material covered in my Substack course. That was my plan, at least, until my phone started blowing up from reporters asking me to comment on the arrest by the FBI of a judge in Milwaukee.
What's the Real Quid Pro Quo with Bukele?
I’m am co-publishing my notes for CAFE Insider right here on my Substack, so you can get them immediately! Listen to this note and get insights from myself and other legal experts by following The Counsel Podcast from CAFE.
Note from Asha: What’s the Real Quid Pro Quo with Bukele?
Dear Reader, I suspect that as a CAFE reader, you have been following the twists and turns of the legal wrangling between the courts and the Trump administration with regard to the mistaken removal and imprisonment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father and El Salvadoran national whom the government acknowledges was sent to El Salvador as a result of an “administrative error.” Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding a lower court’s order that the administration “facilitate” Abrego...
Friday Round Up! 4/4/25
So, I’m not an economist, and I don’t play one on TV. But like you, dear reader, I don’t have to look further than the value of my 401(k) to know that we are, indeed, in the stupidest timeline possible.
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