Retired federal judges do not attach their names to amicus briefs as a courtesy gesture. The made a considered institutional choice — that the DOD's supply-chain-risk designation crossed a line worth contesting publicly. What that choice produces is a credibility signal that travels far beyond the specific case. Appellate judges reading subsequent AI copyright filings will register, however informally, that a substantial cohort of their former colleagues found Anthropic's legal posture defensible. That is not evidence. It is something more durable:…