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.
3,168 Articles
Highlights of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Hearing
Today’s hearing with Attorney General Jeff Sessions before the Senate Intelligence Committee included the following ten highlights: 1. Sessions refused to answer many questions…
Why Trump Can’t (Lawfully) Fire Mueller
There’s been a great deal of noise from some of the President’s confidants over the past 48 hours suggesting that he might (try to) remove Special Counsel Robert Mueller. …
U.S. Secrecy and Transparency in the Use of Lethal Force
Much of the news in the first few months of the Trump administration has been dominated by the Russia scandal, James Comey, and the President’s Twitter feed. Falling below…
Five (Not-So-Obvious) Questions that Att’y Gen. Jeff Sessions Should be Asked
There are many obvious questions that Senators and reporters should pose to Attorney General Jeff Sessions—such as asking him about his knowledge of the reasons the President…
National Security-Related Congressional Hearings, June 12-16
Monday, June 12 7:00pm – House Committee on Armed Services – The Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of Defense (here)…
Is Att’y Gen. Jeff Sessions About to Commit Perjury?
Following James Comey’s hearing on Capitol Hill, the Department of Justice issued a statement which flatly contradicts something that Comey said in his testimony. It appears…
Parsing the White House Response to Comey’s Testimony
The most extraordinary thing to come out of the hearing the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence held Thursday may not be former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony,…
Of Laws, Not Men
Those old enough to remember Watergate will recall that “we are a government of laws, not men” became a mantra. It was repeated so often as to risk banality. But we are a nation…
Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (June 2-June 9)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of…
Neither Facially Legitimate Nor Bona Fide–Why the Very Text of the Travel Ban Shows It’s Unconstitutional
As the litigation over the travel ban moves to the Supreme Court, the most important passage in the Fourth Circuit’s en banc opinion may be a tangential footnote finding “yet…
Mueller’s Investigation of Obstruction of Justice: The Next Steps
James Comey’s written and oral testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee raises many legal, ethical, and political questions that will have to be pondered in the coming…
Five Times Comey Said Trump Was Lying
Former Director of the FBI James Comey came to Thursday’s briefing with the Senate Intelligence Committee ready to say the Trump administration had lied to the American people…