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.
4,711 Articles
![A collage of tweets and statements. The first statement by Mike Mullen, Seventeenth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reads on June 2, 2020, “I cannot remain silent. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy.” A tweet from Admiral Mike Franken, no date, reads, “I’m a retired three-star admiral running for United States Senate in Iowa. The military is a tool of last resort to defend our nation. It is not a weapon to use against our citizens or our states.” A tweet from Tony Thomas on June 1, 2020 reads, “The ‘battle space’ of America??? Not what America needs to hear…ever, unless we are invaded by an adversary or experience a constitutional failure…ie a Civil War…” A tweet from retired General Martin E. Dempsey, no date, reads, “America’s military, our sons and daughters, will place themselves at risk to protect their fellow citizens. Their job is unimaginably hard overseas; harder at home. Respect them, for they respect you. America is not a battleground. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy. #BeBetter” A tweet from General Michael Hayden, no date, reads, “I was appalled to see him in his battle dress. Mi [cut off] a general?!?) should not have walked over to th [cut off] with Trump.” A tweet from Mark Hertling reads, “’Dominating the battle space,’ democratic values.” A tweet from Berry R McCaffrey on June 1, 2020 reads, “On MSNBC. Monday. 1 June. 11 pm ET. Brian Williams. Trump and the Insurrection Act. The murder of George Floyd by a police officer was the spark that detonated the anger at injustice. Using military forces other than Nat Guard would be inflammatory.” A tweet by @stavridisj, no date, reads, “American tradition says the use of active duty [cut off] to quell domestic disputes should be absol [cut off] resort and done at the request of not over the [cut off] objection of governors. I agree with that – th [cut off] role for the National Guard not active duty.” The last statement comes from an article by Jeffrey Goldberg and reads, “James Mattis denounces President Trump, describes him as threat to the Constitution. In an extraordinary condemnation, the former defense secretary [cut off] protestors and says the president is trying to turn Americans against [cut off] another.”](https://i0.wp.com/www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Mattis-collage.jpg?fit=1024%2C483&ssl=1)
The Generals’ Constitution
When retired senior military officers “break ranks” to publicly criticize current political affairs, they often invoke a defense of the Constitution. In light of their oaths…
The Untold Power of Bill Barr to Direct US Military Forces in Case of “Civil Unrest”
Whether deployed against protests for racial justice or deployed to interfere with free and fair elections in November, the US military operations would be led by Bill Barr, not…
Four Remarkable Arguments in DOJ’s Latest Brief in the Michael Flynn Case [UPDATED with links to reply/response briefs]
A couple of weeks ago, I published a very long, comprehensive post in which I tried to explain all the ins and outs of the Michael Flynn case, from 2016 to the present day. Since…
New Complicity Charges Filed in the Killing of George Floyd
UPDATED As millions of people take to the streets demanding racial justice, accountability for police violence, and the demilitarization of the police, the case against the ex-police…
The United States’ Racial Justice Problem Is Also an International Human Rights Law Problem
An essay by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Professor E. Tendayi Achiume.
What Fuels Autocracies Fuels Corruption
Hungary and Brazil aren’t outliers: Leaders in China, Bolivia, Cambodia, India, and elsewhere are using sweeping measures — some of them newly implemented — to restrict civil…
Ignore Trump’s Twitter Tantrum Executive Order and Address Disinformation Instead
The solution is not to give government or platforms more power to make opaque, arbitrary decisions on content, but to help users protect themselves.
If We Could See Ourselves from the Outside
Can a change of perspective dislodge the assumed inevitability of an enduring democracy?
The Growing Irrelevance of State’s List of Countries Not Cooperating on Counterterrorism
Any certification that labels countries as not cooperating fully on counterterrorism and includes only the five countries listed by the State Department last month is less about…
The U.S. Constitution and Limits on Detention and Use of Force in Handling Civil Unrest
Under what circumstances may the government use lethal and non- or lesser-lethal force in the face of unlawful protests, riots, and looting?
Pompeo’s Personal Stake in the International Criminal Court’s Afghan Investigation
It is no secret that the Trump administration, in general, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, specifically, are hostile toward the International Criminal Court (ICC), particularly…
The Military Justice Dimension: Constraints on Military Personnel in Handling Civil Unrest
Top Expert Backgrounder: How the code of military justice applies to National Guard and other military personnel responding to protests. What must they do if the president issues…