Executive Branch
Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis of the U.S. executive branch related to national security, rights, and the rule of law. Analysis and informational resources focus on the executive branch’s powers and their limits, and the actions of the president, administrative agencies, and federal officials.
4,605 Articles
Can the International Criminal Court Hold the Trump Administration in Contempt?
On June 11, President Donald Trump issued an executive order authorizing the imposition of sanctions targeting International Criminal Court officials. This article assesses the…
Why We Oppose the Pompeo Commission on Unalienable Rights’ Draft Report
The letter, signed by 230 organizations, scholars, former officials, and advocates, explains five faulty conclusions central to the report’s thesis. It concludes by noting that…
Defund America’s Endless Wars
Dismantling the structures of racist policing at home will require recognizing the continuum of security state violence that connects domestic policing, border enforcement and…
An Exercise in Doublespeak: Pompeo’s Flawed “Unalienable Rights” Commission
The panel's report clearly seeks to provide a foundation for a regressive, harmful approach to human rights and foreign policy.
Politically Motivated Prosecutions Part II: Refuse, Report, Resign
In Part II of this series, Kristy Parker and Erica Newland explain how DOJ's career prosecutors should respond when they become aware of, or are asked to participate in, politically…
Getting Serious About Protecting Health Care in War
After years of indifference to examining whether its rules of engagement and other operational directives and practices contribute to the scourge of violence against health workers,…
A Window to Rein in DHS
The leverage afforded by the appropriations cycle presents the best and perhaps only opportunity for Congress to confront a department run amok.
“He’s Lying.” New Book Reveals Havoc Bill Barr Wrought Inside Congress
On Tuesday, when Barr testifies, a book will be released covering one of his most controversial and most consequential actions to date.
Politically-Motivated Prosecutions Part I: Legal Obligations and Ethical Duties of Prosecutors
AG Barr is poised to weaponize criminal prosecutions. In part one of a two-part series, former DOJ attorneys Kristy Parker and Erica Newland explain how politically motivated prosecutions…
Dispatches from a Racialized Border: The Invisible Threat
We carry the border on our skin, in our language, through our religion. Anyone on the other side of that border — whose skin is Black or Brown; who speaks to their loved ones…
Timeline: Trump, Barr, and the Halkbank Case on Iran Sanctions-Busting
A comprehensive timeline of the prosecution of Turkey's Halkbank and President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr's reproted actions.
Former DHS and Defense Dept Spokesperson: Trump’s Response to Civil Unrest in Portland is Damaging to Our Government and Our Democracy
President Trump's first spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security writes about the federal forces in Portland.