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

Whistleblower Reinstated in Job in Test Case for NSA and Intelligence Community
In a case that has been closely followed as a test for new whistleblower protections put in place by President Obama, it can now be reported that the whistleblower received restitution…
Call for Papers: “Revisiting the Role of International Law in National Security”
Many conversations in the U.S. about situations of armed conflict – within civil society, academia, and the U.S. government – center on “national security law,” often drawing…

New Case Proves Intelligence Community Whistleblowers Have Protections
NSA headquarters, Ft. Meade, Md. In December, Adm. Mike Rogers, director of the NSA, placed the agency’s Inspector General (IG), Dr. George Ellard, on administrative leave and…

Just Security Event: Surveillance and the Trump Administration
Join Just Security for a fireside chat on U.S. surveillance and a celebration of Jennifer Granick‘s new book, American Spies: Modern Surveillance, Why You Should Care, And What…

Reasons to Distrust Intelligence Report on Civilian Casualties
Ryan Goodman is absolutely correct in what he wrote yesterday at Just Security. I have not proved the claim he attributes to me, namely, that “there is a gross underestimation…

A Just Security Debate!—What’s With the Criticism of the DNI Report on Civilian Casualties?
A U.S. Air Force MQ-1B Predator drone, carrying a Hellfire air-to-surface missile taxis after landing at a secret air base in the Persian Gulf region on January 7, 2016. In a recent…

Trump’s CVE Program: Going From Bad to Worse
Men walk to Friday Prayer at the Omar Mosque in Paterson, N.J. in 2012 after revelations that the NYPD had crossed into New Jersey to conduct surveillance on Newark and area muslims.…

Survivor’s Guide to Being a Successful Whistleblower in the Federal Government
Whistleblowers do a difficult thing: They often put their career and livelihood at risk standing up against their organization and disclosing information that may embarrass their…
McMaster on the Ethics of War
On Monday, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster agreed to serve as National Security Advisor to the President. McMaster has written and spoken extensively on a range of topics, from…
How Trump’s Team Can Use Obama’s Counterterrorism Playbook to Defeat al-Qa’ida and ISIL
The First of Many Challenges. The U.S. military’s January 29 raid in Yemen vividly illustrates the high-stakes challenges involved in counterterrorism operations – particularly…
Dissecting Reince Priebus’ Denials of Russian Connections
Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, appeared on three Sunday morning shows to respond to the news this week of repeated connections between Trump affiliates…

Presidents Day at Just Security
In honor of Presidents Day, Just Security will be on an abbreviated schedule with a lower volume of posts than normal. If any major, time-sensitive developments occur, we will…