Democracy & Rule of Law
Rule of Law
941 Articles
The Intel Community’s Annual Transparency Report Raises More Questions Than It Answers
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence's new mandatory report, summarizing certain intelligence agencies’ surveillance activities in 2017, is one of the most important…
More Questions for Gina Haspel—The Record of False CIA Claims about Torture’s “Efficacy”
Recently Katherine Hawkins published a comprehensive set of questions that Gina Haspel, nominee to head the CIA, should be asked during her confirmation hearings (“What the…
An Opportunity for National Security Transparency in the Trump Era
Hartig and Geltzer--who served in the National Security Council, Defense Department, and Justice Department--examine the benefits of transparency in national security policy, what…
The Politicization of Our Security Institutions
The politicization of the FBI has been swift and extreme. According to Reuters polling, just two years ago, 84 percent of Republicans viewed the FBI favorably. By February 2018,…
How Reconciliation in Iraq Could Stop Collective Punishment
Policymakers in Iraq, and in countries supporting its government, are debating what kind of reconciliation efforts are needed post-ISIS. Meanwhile, without fanfare, the town of…
Mueller’s Choice of Criminal Charges: Why the Trump Team Should Be Very Worried
The Russians not only told the Trump campaign that they had dirt on Hillary Clinton in the form of thousands of emails, but also previewed for George Papadopoulos that they could…
New Ruling Shows How Few Options There Are for Intelligence Community Whistleblowers
Last week, a federal judge dismissed a complaint by a CIA whistleblower (and spy), who goes by the pseudonym James Pars. The ruling by Judge Trevor McFadden could affect the willingness…
Supreme Court Cases Support Obstruction Charges Against the President
Is there a fundamental weakness in the potential case of obstruction against President Donald Trump? At the end of the day, the known facts regarding Trump’s actions are likely…
Russia “Previewed” Plan to Disseminate Emails with Trump Campaign
Goodman analyzes Schiff’s revelation that Russia gave preview to Trump campaign that the Kremlin could help disseminate stolen emails. Then he addresses the legally important…
Important Report by White House on National Security Due Soon
The executive branch owes it to Congress—and all of us—to deliver the answers Congress has demanded to do the critical job assigned to our national legislature and serve the…
Will the Next Use of Force “Transparency Report” be Transparent? Devil May be in Classified Details
Congress recently required the President to submit a report that describes the administration’s legal and policy positions on the use of military force and related national security…
Mueller’s Uphill Battle: Obstruction Law and the Comey Firing
Did the president commit a violation of federal criminal law when he fired the FBI director? Many commentators assume that the president has violated one of several criminal statutes…