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.

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4,801 Articles
Donald Trump walks behind police officers

In Trump Case, Procedures Exist to Safeguard the Former President’s Right to an Impartial Jury

"[E]nsuring that Trump receives a fair trial while maintaining his Sixth Amendment rights is a necessary step on the path toward accountability."
Woman walking on New York City sidewalk

Transnational Repression Increasingly Reaches Into the United States

In countering transnational repression, "[c]ivil litigation provides a pathway for holding ... authoritarian regimes directly accountable, not just their hired guns, if significant…
Chew, wearing a dark suit and blue tie, prepares to testify before Congress.

How Lawmakers Hope to Sidestep Existing National Security Reviews to Target Foreign Investment

Though regulatory efforts have worked to monitor the app’s potential national security threats so far, politicians growing impatient.
Manhattan Criminal Courthouse with increased presence of NYPD officers and media crew on March 31, 2023, the day after former President Donald Trump was indicted. Photo credit: Melissa Bender

The Broad Scope of “Intent to Defraud” in the New York Crime of Falsifying Business Records

"While there are other legal hurdles for the Manhattan DA to cross in the indictment of the former president, this element of the relevant offenses poses no obstacle..."
An image of the episode title with sound waves underneath.

The Just Security Podcast: The Mayor of Les Irois

Determined victims and creative lawyers used a U.S, law, the Torture Victims Protection Act, to hold a powerful mayor accountable.
Facade of Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in Manhattan

Survey of Past Criminal Prosecutions for Covert Payments to Benefit a Political Campaign

Surreptitious third-party payments are routinely prosecuted as campaign finance violations in New York and nationally under various statutes.
(L-R) FBI Director Christopher Wray, Director of the National Security Agency Gen. Paul Nakasone, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, and CIA Director William Burns testify during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing concerning worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill March 8, 2023 in Washington, DC. The leaders of the intelligence agencies testified on a wide range of issues, including China, Covid-19 origins, and TikTok. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

To Strengthen US National Security, Diverse Teams Should Be a Given

The field shows important signs of critical gains but also more work to do to elevate women, particularly women of color.
U.S. Special Operations Commander Gen. Bryan Fenton, Assistant Defense Secretary for Special Operations Christopher Maier and Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, sit in at tables to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Congress Should Limit, Not Expand, Irregular Warfare Authority

Section 1202 of the NDAA is an overbroad authority that risks widening the aperture for U.S. forces to engage in and direct combat in unauthorized, foreign wars.
President Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Salman stand next to each other.

A Long-Forgotten Law Could Force the U.S. to Re-Evaluate its Relationship with Saudi Arabia

Section 502B(c) is a potent tool to accelerate congressional oversight of support to countries with concerning human rights records. 
People take part in a demonstration outside Georgia's Parliament in Tbilisi on March 8, 2023 called by Georgian opposition and civil society groups against government plans to introduce controversial "foreign agent" legislation, reminiscent of Russian legislation to pressure critics. The calls came after more than sixty of people were detained and dozens of police officers wounded in violent clashes that broke out in the capital Tbilisi late the day before, amid fears of democratic backsliding in Georgia. Some of the protesters carry a sign that says, "Stop Russia." (Photo by VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Backsliding: Georgia’s Crackdown on Civil Society May Be Just a Start

If the Biden administration wants to curb authoritarian trends, it should maintain its heightened attention to civil liberties in Georgia.
Just Security

Policy Alert: Iran-U.S. Hostilities Ratcheting Up in Syria

Tensions between Iran and the United States are escalating again following tit-for-tat hostilities in Syria.
Just Security

Senate Foreign Relations Committee FY2024 State Department Budget Hearing: Key Takeaways

"An overarching concern of the senators was the organizational capacity of the State Department to respond nimbly to [global] challenges."
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