Congress
Just Security’s expert authors offer analysis of U.S. Congress’ role in national security, foreign affairs, the rule of law, and rights. Coverage includes analysis and informational resources related to the legislative process, oversight and investigations of the executive branch, and major debates on the separation of powers and Congress’ constitutional role.
2,462 Articles
Version 4.0 – Do We Need A New Privacy and Civil Liberties Board?
One aspect of the President’s Review Group report on NSA surveillance that has gone relatively unnoticed is the recommendation that the current Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight…
Could the NSA’s Telephony Metadata Program Have Prevented 9/11? Judge William Pauley v. Lawrence Wright
In an earlier post, I proposed some analytic tools for evaluating the effectiveness of the NSA’s telephony metadata program – in light of recommendations by the President’s…
OLC Memos and FOIA: Why the (b)(5) Exemption Matters
The headline of yesterday’s D.C. Circuit decision in Electronic Frontier Foundation v. Department of Justice, in which the Court of Appeals rejected a FOIA request for a…
FISC Approves Application to Renew Telephony Metadata Program [UPDATED]
Today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declassified and announced that the FISC has approved the government’s application to renew the telephony metadata…
Prediction: Fourth Amendment Evolves in 2014
When should courts follow legal precedent and when should the law change? This is a debate that underlies this month’s contrary decisions about the constitutionality of government…
How to Evaluate Whether the NSA’s Telephony Metadata Program Makes Us Safer (and What Proponents and Opponents Get Wrong)
[Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the Report by the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies. Others in the…
Highlights of the Report of the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies
[Editor’s Note: Just Security is holding a “mini forum” on the Report by the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies. Others in the series…
Senate Passes the NDAA
Late this evening, the Senate passed by a vote of 84-15 the compromise NDAA legislation that the House approved last week; it should be sent to the President for his signature…
Edward Snowden’s Vindication? All Three Branches Considering NSA Reform
How things change in a single week. Just last week, I was taping a debate on Edward Snowden and the NSA with, among others, General Michael Hayden, former head of the NSA. …
Why the Constitutional Holding in Klayman Wasn’t Necessary
24 hours later, Judge Leon’s 68-page opinion issuing (and then staying) a preliminary injunction against the NSA’s bulk telephony metadata program continues to generate…
The Parallels Between South African and U.S. Law On Universal Jurisdiction
The Parallels Between South African and U.S. Law On Universal Jurisdiction In an earlier post, we noted that the South African universal jurisdiction (UJ) statute is not particularly…
Can §215 Be Used for Content Collection?
At this week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the National Security Agency’s surveillance authorities, Sen. Patrick Leahy posed a crucial question to the government’s…