Amicus Brief in Anthropic PBC vs. Department of War
Several charter members of the Society for the Rule of Law—including our Board President Alan Raul—have joined in filing an amicus brief in Anthropic, PBC, v. U.S. Department of War et. al., urging the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco Division) to grant a preliminary injunction against the Department of War’s designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk.
The brief argues that the Department of War’s designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk does not deserve judicial deference and violates the Constitution. The designation is undeserving of judicial deference because it is a pre-textually motivated retaliation against Anthropic for opposing the Administration’s wishes, because it fails to comply with procedural and statutory standards, and because it subverts national security.
This case is about pretext and punishment. The pretext is manifest: Anthropic in no way meets the statutory definitions of a supply chain risk, and the Administration has made no serious effort to suggest otherwise. Defendants’ “sentence first, verdict afterwards” approach makes clear that they intended to apply this designation before they took even a single one of the procedural steps that are statutorily required antecedents to such a designation. Nor can the action against Anthropic be viewed in isolation. It should instead be seen as the latest chapter in the concerted campaign of pretextual retaliations- often parading in the guise of emergency national security regulations- that has characterized the second Trump Administration.
The brief condemns the designation as unconstitutional, because the action retaliates against Anthropic for exercising its First Amendment rights, because the President has no unilateral power to punish, and because such an action violates the Constitution’s Bill of Attainder clause. The amici write:
…The Constitution forbids such arbitrary presidential punishment. The First Amendment of the Constitution bars the government from punishing Anthropic based on its speech or political values. Likewise, the federal Bill of Attainder Clause forbids punishment without judicial process. Therefore, the Adminstration’s actions here are unlawful not just because they fail to meet the requirements of the supply chain risk statutes, but also because they violate fundamental constitutional guarantees and are thus manifestly ultra vires.
Brief of Amici Curiae Former U.S. National Security Officials in Support of Plaintiff, Anthropic PBC v. U.S. Dep’t of War, No. 3:26-cv-01996, at 7 (N.D. Cal. 2026).
The amici from the Society for the Rule of Law include our Board President Alan Raul, our Board Secretary Peter Keisler, our Treasurer Stuart Gerson, Board Member Donald Ayer, Advisory Council Member Nuala O’Connor, and Charter Members Nicholas Rostow, and Paul Rosenzweig.
Read the full brief here. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected].
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