Democracy & Rule of Law
Rule of Law
941 Articles
Can “Fake News” be stopped?
The David Hogg conspiracy theory highlights the speed at which false information spreads on social media. And it is currently beyond the capacity of automated systems to determine…
The Microsoft Design Decisions That Caused this Mess
I need not spend much space on the merits of United States v. Microsoft, the case about the extraterritoriality of email search warrants that the Supreme Court will decide this…
The Pardon Boomerang: Why Trump Associates May Need to Decline Any Offer of a Pardon
With the idea of presidential pardons resurfacing, there’s a reason that option may simply not work for the President. Trump associates would face a significant risk that their…
UN Releases Guidelines for Team Investigating ISIS Crimes in Iraq
Back in September, we covered the establishment by the U.N. Security Council of a novel "Investigative Team" to investigate international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity…
The Indictment of Russia’s Super PAC and the Open Question of Trump Campaign Complicity
Russia's Internet Research Agency is now revealed to have been among the largest Super PACs operating in the 2016 elections. This is now clearly one of the major campaign finance…
Let’s Leave “Crisis” and “Emergency” For the Real Thing
Samantha Vinograd, who served on President Barack Obama’s National Security Council and as deputy U.S. Treasury attaché to Iraq during the Bush Administration, has recently…
Episode 59 of the National Security Law Podcast: Share the Cookies
We don’t lack for topics this week! In today’s episode, Professor Chesney and I eat a number of cookies while talking about the following: Rachel Brand steps down at DOJ. …
Why the White House “System” for Security Clearances is an Intelligence Emergency
Former Bush and Obama official explains what exactly the risks are in having so many White House officials serve under long-term interim security clearances. She looks at the downstream…
It is up to House Intel Committee, not Trump, whether to release Democratic memo on the Page FISA application
News stories and headlines are saying things like, "Trump Blocks Release of Memo Rebutting Republican Claims” (New York Times)--but that's not accurate. The House Intelligence…
The White House Latest Move to Undermine Congressional Authority
Lost in the back-and-forth over the Nunes memo, is a new effort to weaken Congressional oversight and misdirect Congress.
Dissecting the Grassley-Graham Letter’s Criticisms of the Carter Page FISA Application
In a recently released letter and accompanying memo, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R- Iowa) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) outline concerns that reinforce…
Trump’s Four-Pronged War on the Administrative State
Among the many things the first year of the Trump presidency has given us is a new genre of op-ed. What might be called the resignation-confessional is headlined with some variation…