Democracy & Rule of Law
Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis on threats and challenges to democracy and the rule of law in the United States and globally. Coverage includes analysis of the separation of powers, good governance, democratic backsliding, authoritarianism, judicial independence, freedom of the press and association, and accountability for rule of law violations.
3,333 Articles

You Don’t Need to Know What’s in the Nunes Memo to Worry About Its Release
President Donald Trump has reportedly thrown his support behind the movement to #ReleaseTheMemo. It’s perhaps not surprising that a trending Twitter campaign has received a warm…

Talking Up a “Perjury Trap,” Trump’s Team Prepares a Defense for the President
Although President Trump confidently declared that he is willing to speak to special counsel Robert Mueller under oath, and is even “looking forward to it,” his principal lawyer…

Three Insights into Attempted Firing of Mueller and Obstruction of Justice
Special counsel Robert Mueller arrives at the U.S. Capitol for closed meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 21, 2017 to discuss the firing of former FBI…

Could Trump Have “Directed” Mueller’s Removal?
There’s a good deal of ambiguity in the Times’ new story about the President’s effort to “direct” the removal of Special Counsel Mueller last June. …

Timeline of Trump and Obstruction of Justice: Key Dates and Events
Did President Donald Trump or other U.S. officials engage in an obstruction of justice with respect to the Russia investigation? There are three scenarios which raise that question.…

The Russia Cover Up and Conspiring to Lie to Federal Authorities
The Trump team long engaged in a concerted effort to lie about campaign contacts with Russians during the 2016 election. Of this all reasonable observers know. Even some Trump…

Episode 55 of the National Security Law Podcast: #ReleaseThePodcast
Happy anniversary, y’all! It’s been one full year since we launched this podcast, and we are very grateful for all our listeners. Here’s hoping there is *less* to discuss…

Stop Calling It “Incidental” Collection of Americans’ Emails: The Gov’t’s Renewed Surveillance Powers
Former Acting FBI Dir. Andrew McCabe, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, DNI Dan Coats, and NSA Dir. Adm. Michael Rogers testify on re-authorization of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance…

The Trump Campaign-Russia Alliance and Campaign Finance
Recent commentaries and press reports have tended to downgrade the prospects for a special counsel prosecution of campaign finance charges. Moving ahead of them in the Mueller…

On Bannon’s Testimony & Executive Privilege
Stephen Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist and his campaign’s chief executive, refused to answer questions about his roles on the presidential transition…

The UN Security Council, Global Watch Lists, Biometrics, and the Threat to the Rule of Law
Members of the United Nations Security Council meet at U.N. headquarters, April 5, 2017 in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) While much of the world was not paying attention,…

Facts on FISA: Correcting the Record on the Section 702 House Floor Debate
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) speak at a news conference about their proposed FISA reforms at the Russell Senate Office Building on…