Democracy & Rule of Law
Rule of Law
945 Articles
Trump’s Ability to Classify Mueller Report Is Greater Threat Than Executive Privilege
The prospect of the President invoking Executive Privilege to keep the Special Counsel's report secret has received plenty of attention. Less well-known is this: there are no restrictions…
Executive Privilege and the Public Interest: Why the President Can’t Block Release of the Mueller Report
For more than a year, President Donald Trump’s lawyers have bragged about his “unprecedented” level of cooperation with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation,…
Trump’s Disrespect for the Rule of Law Spreads
Trump's disrespect for the rule of law has spread and is now poised to threaten the president himself.
In Defense of NYT’s Anonymous: Government “Stewardship” as a Guard Against Threats to Democratic Order
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” – The Federalist…
How Trump’s Pressure on Google Threatens Government Manipulation of Search Results
Tech behemoths just can’t catch a break these days. Just as they are struggling to meet calls to contain the spread of misinformation and hate speech online, they are being bashed…
“ISIS Widows” and “Boko Haram Wives”: Overlooked Abuses in Iraq and Nigeria
Thousands of displaced women in Iraq and Nigeria have been arbitrarily branded as affiliated with IS or Boko Haram, and subjected to abuse as a result. Almost 400 in-depth interviews…
The Trials of White House Counsel Don McGahn
Over the weekend, Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman published a remarkable story in the New York Times chronicling White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn’s substantial cooperation…
Brennan’s Due Process Case Against the White House
In an unprecedented move, the White House announced that President Donald Trump was revoking the security clearance of John Brennan, the CIA director in the Obama administration.…
Trump Could Learn from Gore on How to Handle an Election Interference Scandal
Replace Russia with China, the 2016 election with 1996, and Trump with Gore, and there are disturbing parallels. The stark difference is in how the White House handled the case.
Precision and Civilian Casualties: Policymakers Believe Drones Can Be Precise. That May Not Be Enough.
What do policymakers’ own views of drones – particularly as they relate to civilian casualties – reflect, and how do those views affect policymaking?
Just Security Podcast: ACLU’s David Cole on Defending our Democratic Traditions
Roughly a year ago, I sat down with ACLU Legal Director and Just Security editorial board member David Cole to pick his brain about what our various independent government branches…
Setting the Record Straight: The Pardon Power is Part of the Rule of Law
Writing from the perspective of a former federal prosecutor, Barbara McQuade decried President Donald Trump’s most recent exercise of the pardon power, which supposedly poses…