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.
4,801 Articles

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."

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…

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.

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..."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.
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."