Intelligence & Surveillance
Just Security’s expert authors provide legal and policy analysis of intelligence and surveillance activities, focusing on their impact on national security and on civil liberties and privacy rights, and their oversight by Congress and the courts.
1,846 Articles

Greg Craig: The Government’s Latest Swing at FARA Enforcement & What Comes Next
In an offshoot of the Paul Manafort case in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, former Obama White House counsel and veteran Washington lobbyist Greg Craig was acquitted…

The Yemen Project: Open Source Investigations and the Law of War
An unprecedented open source investigation aids the legal analysis of allegedly unlawful strikes by the Saudi-led coalition, but also has limits in reaching legal conclusions under…

Intel Whistleblower Complaint Q&A Part 2: Constitutional Boogaloo
Developments in the Intelligence Community whistleblower story raise new legal questions.

Handling of Whistleblower Complaint Makes It Impossible for IG To Do His Job
It’s nearly impossible for whistleblowers to trust an inspector general when their agency-head acts as acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has, publicly rebuking…

Q&A on Whistleblower Complaint Being Withheld from Congressional Intelligence Committees
On September 13, House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff publicly announced that he had issued a subpoena to Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Joseph Maguire…

Constitution Day 2019: The Hidden Domestic Surveillance Crisis
As we mark the 232nd anniversary of the signing of America’s governing charter, we have ample evidence that it continues to be violated by the federal officials charged with…

France’s Major Statement on International Law and Cyber: An Assessment
Leading expert on international law and cyberspace assesses major new position staked out by French government.

Leaked Documents Contain Major Revelations About the FBI’s Terrorism Classifications
New revelations about the FBI’s classification system for domestic terrorism investigations raise questions about its treatment of the white supremacist threat.

Nuts and Bolts of the IG Report on Comey: Correcting Misconceptions
On the morning of Aug. 29, I finished up my lecture notes for my first day teaching a class called “Law of Secrecy.” I would touch on classification, leaking, prepublication…

The Pattern and Practice of Trump’s Assaults on the Intelligence Community
Just Security editors—Joshua Geltzer (former DOJ, NSC) and Ryan Goodman (former DOD)—teamed up to: (1) catalog the specific ways in which President Trump has undercut the U.S.…

War is as War Does: World Order and the Future of Conflict
The release of the first part of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee’s bipartisan investigation into Russia’s 2016 election interference and Robert Mueller’s recent…

How Data Privacy Laws Can Fight Fake News
Governments from Russia to Iran have exploited social media’s connectivity, openness, and polarization to influence elections, sow discord, and drown out dissent. While responses…