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
Reports Suggest Comey’s Firing Could Be an Obstruction of Justice in Russia Investigation
If President Donald Trump orchestrated the decision to fire the Director of the FBI to subvert or undermine the integrity of investigations into the Trump campaign’s possible…
An Odd and (perhaps) Telling Omission in the Rosenstein Memo [UPDATED]
With his letter to James Comey today, President Donald Trump attached the “letters” he received from Attorney General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.…
The Comey Firing and the Rule of Law
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s memo recommending the dismissal is entirely based on Comey’s two highly unusual press conferences denouncing HRC while declining…
The Knives Are Out for Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster
This story is being cross-posted with Foreign Policy. Inside the White House, opponents of Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, President Donald Trump’s second national security adviser,…
The Constitutional Rubicon of an Assange Prosecution
If you were tuning in and out of FBI Director James Comey’s hearing before the House Intelligence Committee last Wednesday, you probably got an earful about Comey’s public…
The Missing Middle in Police Reform
The killing of Jordan Edwards this week should yield outrage. It should also serve as a wake-up to the rest of America. I’m finishing a book on countries that recovered from…
National Security-Related Congressional Hearings, May 8-May 12
Monday, May 8 2:30pm – Senate Judiciary Committee – Russian Interference in the 2016 United States Election (here) Tuesday, May 9 9:30am – Senate Committee on Armed Services…
2 Points by Stephen Preston on a Congressional War Authorization for ISIS
Stephen Preston, former General Counsel to the CIA and to the Department of Defense, was a speaker at a recent Heritage Foundation event entitled, “Is it Time for Congress…
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (Apr. 29-May 5)
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…
An ISIS AUMF: Where We Are Now, Where to Go Next, and Why It’s So Important to Get It Right
At a Heritage Foundation event on Monday, freshman Senator Todd Young (R-IN) told the audience “it is long past time for Congress to consider and pass an AUMF [authorization…
Reminder by Charlie Savage of Surveillance Implications of ISIS AUMF
Charlie Savage, correspondent for The New York Times and author of “Power Wars,” was a speaker at a recent Heritage Foundation event entitled, “Is it Time for…
Why Congress Should Not Add “Successor Organizations” in Authorizing War Against ISIS
Years from now, what organizations will be the successor entities to Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS? Of course nobody knows the answer, not even the groups themselves. With that…