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

DNC Hack Victims Sue Trump Campaign and Roger Stone
On Wednesday, three victims of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) cybertheft and subsequent document release by WikiLeaks filed a federal lawsuit against Donald J. Trump for…

Explainer: The Special Counsel Investigation
All eyes are on Robert Mueller. In May, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed the former FBI Director as special counsel to oversee the Department of Justice’s Russia…

The Trump Administration Provides One More Reason to Discontinue CVE
In a post last week, Steve Weine celebrated the fact that the Obama administration’s countering violent extremism (CVE) program was still alive. In his view, “national security…

Just Security’s Reading List for Trump Jr.’s Meeting With the Russian Lawyer
Not Just a Personal Problem for Trump Jr.–Now Trouble for the Trump Campaign and Trump Sr. by Bob Bauer Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 12:11 PM The Media Is Not Asking the Right…

Not Just a Personal Problem for Trump Jr.–Now Trouble for the Trump Campaign and Trump Sr.
There is an impression developing in the current reporting that somehow Donald Trump Jr.’s emails and activities may be primarily a personal problem. But he was, of course, an…

As Collusion Evidence Emerges, Obstruction Allegations Begin To Look More Damaging
The criminal investigations of the Trump administration seem largely to have followed two separate paths: on the one hand, whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign…

Exclusive: Trump’s Trolls Are Waging War on America’s Civil Servants
On June 11, alt-right blogger Mike Cernovich published an article attacking an assistant to National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, claiming the previously low-profile civil servant…

Crossing the “t”s and Dotting the “i”s: Back to Square One in the Hawaii Entry Ban Dispute
In short, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that it did not have jurisdiction to consider an appeal of Judge Watson’s interlocutory order in which he concluded…

Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (June 30-July 7)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of…

Most Americans Disagree With Trump Admin’s Enforcing Travel Ban Against Grandparents
One of the hotly contested questions in the Travel Ban litigation is the definition of “close family relationships.” The Supreme Court told the administration that it cannot…

The Supreme Court’s Decision to Hear Travel Ban Cases Does Not Bode Well for Civil Liberties
On June 26, the Supreme Court announced it would hear two cases challenging President Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban. The Court’s decision to hear these matters should surprise…

Timeline: Trump’s Acts of Appeasement/Accommodation to Russia [Updated]
This page has been updated.