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
For Scientific Integrity in Government, Fix Political Appointments Process
The Brennan Center's National Task Force on Rule of Law and Democracy recommends ways to rein in abuses by converting long-held norms into law.
Ukrainian Funding Delay Created a Paper Trail That Congress Should Follow
The Office of Management and Budget prevented the release of the Ukraine funding through its apportionment authority, a bureaucratic process that necessarily creates a paper trail.
Pompeo’s Letter Is the Trump Administration’s Opening Salvo of Obstruction
The Trump administration now seems to be reverting to its previous strategy of total obstruction based on maximalist interpretations of executive authority.
Greg Craig: The Government’s Latest Swing at FARA Enforcement & What Comes Next
In an offshoot of the Paul Manafort case in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, former Obama White House counsel and veteran Washington lobbyist Greg Craig was acquitted…
Deciphering the Pompeo-House Clash Over Witnesses
Top congressional oversight expert breaks it down — what are the competing claims, and which ones are stronger or weaker?
There Is No Constitutional Impediment to an Impeachment Inquiry that Concerns National Security
The Constitution assigns the House of Representatives the impeachment power precisely to address situations where an urgent national security risk means accountability can’t…
On the Principle of Non-Use of Force in Current International Law
[Editor’s note from co-editor-in-chief Ryan Goodman: Just Security publishes, on very rare occasions, a long form analysis by a leading scholar or other expert on an important…
Trump Goes Full Putin—Capitulation Inside the Oval Office
Trump's following Putin's whataboutism not simply for public consumption. He’s apparently internalized it and turned it against the United States.
An Overview of International Humanitarian Law in France’s New Cyber Document
France's positions explained - with translations of key text - on important issues like the meaning of "attack" and the application of the principles of distinction and proportionality…
The Iceberg’s Tip: Ukraine Phone Call and the Months-Long Conspiracy to Violate Federal Campaign Finance Laws
Top election law expert writes about "the absurdity of the Justice Department’s refusal to investigate."
Whistleblower Says White House Took Unusual Steps to Limit Access to Ukraine Call Record
"According to a person familiar with the content of the complaint who spoke to Just Security, when the call was over, senior White House officials pulled the verbatim transcript…
Trump’s Call to Ukraine May Constitute “Honest Services Fraud”—A Core Crime of Public Corruption
Missing from the conversation is the public corruption crime of honest services fraud, and it fits the reported facts, writes Barbara McQuade, former United States Attorney for…