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.
4,757 Articles

Trump’s Executive Order on the ICC is Illegal, Not Just Shameful
Significant First Amendment concerns are raised by the administration's sanctions against the International Criminal Court and against those who support the ICC's work.

The President and Immigration Law Series: Executive Power Beyond Enforcement
Nicholas Espiritu cautions that presidential power goes beyond enforcement - and neither bureaucratic nor constitutional safeguards are sufficient to check these quasi-legislative…

The President and Immigration Law: Introduction to a Just Security Series
In order to develop a meaningful reform agenda, it is essential to understand how the U.S. immigration system and the president’s prominent role within it came to be. In a new…

Amnesty International Calls for India to Lift Account Freeze to Resume Vital Human Rights Work
Senior US officials traveling to India this month should urge the immediate lifting of the account freeze and press India to guarantee rights of civil society organizations to…

Shaky Hands in the Oval Office
Like another president's illness, Trump's bout with COVID-19 exposes the risks of a personalized foreign policy that dismisses national security structures.

New Financial Sector Sanctions will Eviscerate Humanitarian Trade with Iran
A basic understanding of the legal landscape of U.S. sanctions makes clear that sanctioning the rest of Iran’s financial sector will carry significant consequences for the Iranian…

Prosecuting the ISIS “Beatles:” A testament to dedicated US government professionalism
On the eight-year history that led to this point.

Why We Are Suing President Trump
Orders by President Donald Trump and his Cabinet make us afraid to continue our lifelong work for justice.

Military Medical Ethics and Dr. Conley’s Misrepresentations of the President’s Health
"To witness military physicians bending or burying the truth does long-lasting damage to the confidence required for the system to work."

Consequences of Federal Failure: Lessons from New York City in the Pandemic
A city is the form of government best positioned to understand the needs of its constituents. But the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the ways in which local government, even…

Manafort and His Ukraine Patron: “FinCEN Files” Further Illustrate Gaping Holes in Oversight
Leaked documents in a global news investigation reveal suspicious transactions and business practices that undermine US interests.

Five Years On: Military Accountability and the Attack on the MSF Trauma Center in Kunduz
On the fifth anniversary of the tragic attack by the U.S. military on the Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) trauma center in Kunduz, Afghanistan, a former U.S. military legal adviser…