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
View from Socotra Island: Yemen War and Threats to the UN Charter
A small Yemeni island was recently at the center of a little-noticed standoff between three states—Yemen, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia. The dispute reveals…
Trump’s Subpoena Gamble: Fighting It Could Open Door to Indictment
If President Trump litigates the question whether the special counsel can subpoena him, the courts may ending up also saying a sitting president can be indicted.
A Possible US-EU Agreement on Law Enforcement Access to Data?
[Cross-posted on Lawfare] Attorney General Jeff Sessions is scheduled to fly to Sofia, Bulgaria for a May 22 meeting with senior European law enforcement officials. In the wake…
The Unknown Cost of America’s Counterterrorism Efforts
A Stimson Center working group released a study last week on the costs of America’s counterterrorism efforts, and it found about what you’d expect: nearly 17 years after 9/11,…
Trump’s Escalating Assault on the Justice Department: Time to Review Dershowitz’s Defense of Unreviewable Presidential Control of Federal Law Enforcement
President Trump has taken a dramatic turn in his push against the Justice Department. His approach his built on a theory that Alan Dershowitz defends on television. But when Dershowitz…
Dispelling the NYT’s “The Daily” Podcast’s Misconceptions about Mueller’s Options
Professor Goodman explodes four common myths about Mueller's options if the special counsel finds the President engaged in criminal activity. Some avenues are closed or risky,…
Letter to the Editor: The Twenty-Fifth Amendment Reader’s Guide
Harold Koh and the Yale Law School Rule of Law Clinic should be proud of their work. Released on April 18, the Clinic’s “Reader’s Guide” to Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth…
Contempt of Congress, Contempt by Congress
The latest sideshow stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian collusion is Congressmen Devin Nunes’s (R-Calif.) and Mark Meadows’s (R-N.C.)…
Digital Free for All Part Deux: European Commission Proposal on E-Evidence
The European Commission has released a proposal to enable EU-member states’ law enforcement authorities to access digital information regardless of where that data is stored.…
Does the U.S. “Deliberately Misinterpret” the Laws of War?–A Response to Gabor Rona
I recently wrote about problems in the Pentagon’s procedures for post-strike civilian casualty assessments in places like Iraq and Syria. Gabor Rona’s letter-to-the-editor,…
Letter to the Editor: Much More Iceberg Below the Surface on Civilian Casualties
[Editor’s note: Ryan Goodman responds to Gabor Rona in a follow-on piece.] Ryan Goodman makes a compelling case that the United States undercounts its civilian casualties.…
Legal Limits on Military Assistance to Proxy Forces: Pathways for State and Official Responsibility
This article is the latest in our Fog of Law series that examines the gray zones in international law and conflict that can be exploited by states. The series comes in advance…