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This week on Rational Security, Quinta and Scott were joined by Lawfare Legal Fellow Anna Bower to talk through the week\u2019s big national security news, including:

• \u201cHamas, No M\xe1s.\u201d A senior Hamas official was recently killed in an attack in Beirut, in what many believe was an operation by Israel\u2014a country whose leaders have pledged to target Hamas\u2019s leaders wherever they might be, though it has not formally acknowledged involvement in this particular attack. But pursuing such action across a border that is already on the edge of becoming a second front in the Gaza conflict has observers nervous. How significant is this operation? Does it risk regional escalation?
• \u201cBad for the Immune System.\u201d Just before the holiday, the Supreme Court rejected special counsel Jack Smith\u2019s petition for it to expedite consideration of former President Trump\u2019s claim of immunity to criminal charges. And in the week that\u2019s passed, briefing is already underway\u2014including an argument by an amicus asserting that appeal shouldn\u2019t be allowed at all. What hangs on this case? And how do the courts seem poised to address it?
• \u201cThe Unprincipled Agent Problem.\u201d The Justice Department has leveled additional charges against Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife alleging additional illegal actions in support of Qatar, including some in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Meanwhile, several associates of former President Trump have faced similar charges for alleged work for the same government. What should we make of these powerful public officials and their associates doing work for foreign governments? And is FARA the right tool to address it?

For object lessons, Quinta continued to suck up to the estate of Roberto Bolano by endorsing his book \u201cThe Savage Detectives.\u201d Scott spilled the beans on one of Denver\u2019s lovely speakeasies, B&GC. And Anna urged folks to try out a Tarot Card reading for the New Year\u2014advice Fox News appears to have taken on former President Trump\u2019s behalf.

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