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.
3,474 Articles

Episode 46 of the National Security Law Podcast: The $15 Million Dollar Man
In this week’s episode, your devoted hosts dig into a bonanza of national security law odds-and-ends. First up is an en banc decision by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance…

Russian Money and Trump’s Legal Defense
Piece by piece, we continue to learn about Russia’s assault on the 2016 election: cyberattacks on voting systems in 39 states; troll farms that pushed divisive political messages…
Full Text (Photo Images) of Donald Trump Jr and Wikileaks Correspondence
Following The Atlantic‘s Julia Ioffe ‘s scoop revealing the private correspondence between Donald Trump Jr. and Wikileaks, the President’s son released, over…

Sessions’ Recusal, the Clinton Foundation, and Uranium One
When Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, he will face questioning on the Uranium One deal. As Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s…

Who in Their Right Mind Would Believe Putin?
This article is co-published with our partners at The Atlantic. When asked on Saturday about his conversation with Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific…

Former Prosecutor Renato Mariotti’s Tweet Threads on National Security (Nov. 3-10)
Here is an exposition and presentation of some of this week’s national security-related threads authored by Just Security Editorial Board member and former federal prosecutor…

The USA Liberty Act — aka Don’t Let the Constitutional be the Enemy of the Unconstitutional
The House Judiciary Committee has completed its markup of a major surveillance reform bill intended to better protect Americans’ privacy and enhance transparency. Responding…

What Took So Long: The Non-Indictment of Paul Manafort Over The Years
Last week, we learned that Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, is under indictment for laundering millions of dollars worth of income to hide it from the…

Modernizing ECPA: We need Congressional action despite DOJ’s new gag order guidelines
On October 24, the Justice Department announced new binding guidance designed to limit the routine use of non-disclosure orders that are used to prevent tech companies from notifying…

Highlights of Adam Schiff’s AP Interview: Manafort’s Kremlin Ties, Facebook Stonewalling, More
Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif) provided an in-depth interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. Schiff’s remarks have an added weight this morning. He is the ranking member…

Episode 45 of the National Security Law Podcast: An Inter-Jurisdictional Cluster-You-Know-What?
Has it only been a week? Yeesh. Well, we are back! In this episode, Bobby Chesney and I focus on three topics: The Mueller investigation and the prospect that Mike Flynn…

Close Call Whether Sessions Committed Perjury in Denying Other Campaign Russian Contacts
It is not crystal clear whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied to Congress about his knowledge of other Trump campaign members’ contacts with Russians during the 2016 election.…