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

Trump Administration Must Publicly Disclose the Truth About Khashoggi Murder
The Open Society Justice Initiative has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the CIA and other federal agencies seeking the disclosure of all records relating to the…

Why Americans Should Care About Mueller’s Counterintelligence Probe—Aside from any Criminal or Political Implications
Stephanie Douglas, former Executive Assistant Director for the National Security Branch of the FBI, writes that Mueller's core mission is obscured by media focus on criminal and…

Americans Have Right to Know if US Failed to Warn Khashoggi—A New Lawsuit May Get Answers
Now is a good time to return to the question what the US government knew about Saudi plot beforehand. A lawsuit may answer that question.

Three Takeaways from Russia’s Latest Criminal Charges Against Bill Browder
On Monday, Russian prosecutors announced new charges against U.S.-born British financier Bill Browder. For years, the Kremlin has targeted Browder using Interpol’s “red notice”…

Digital Journalism and the New Public Square – Or’ Emet Lecture
I was delighted to be asked by the Nathanson Center and Or’ Emet Fund at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School to deliver the 2018 Or’ Emet Lecture. In the lecture I…

Whistleblowers: The New “Insider Threat”
Thanks to information recently released by the Senate Judiciary Committee, we now have fresh, incontrovertible evidence that elements of the Intelligence Community (IC) have monitored…

Russia Investigation Leads Back in Play under Democrats
Following the Democratic takeover of the House in January, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is expected to chair the House intelligence committee. His leadership will come after a spectacle…

Reply to Bauer and Goodman: No, the Government Doesn’t Decide What ‘Legitimate Press Functions’ Are First Amendment Worthy
Former Obama administration lawyers Bob Bauer and Ryan Goodman make a dangerous argument: that coordination with a political campaign is outside the “legitimate press function” and…

Psy-Ops, Meet Cyber-Ops: U.S. Takes on Russian Trolls
A Russian troll sits down at his desktop and logs into one of the social media accounts he uses to impersonate and radicalize Americans. Suddenly, a direct message appears: “Hello,…

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board’s Disappointing Report on PPD-28 Implementation
Edward Snowden’s revelations that the NSA engaged in massive spying operations overseas prompted outrage and political blowback from our closest allies. In an attempt to manage…

U.S. Libel Case Over Russian Poisoning Takes Aim at Kremlin Propaganda
A lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan alleges defamation by two Kremlin-controlled television stations widely available in the United States concerning the infamous poisoning…

Conscientious Objectors and Whistleblowers: Sentencing Should Recognize First Amendment Interests
Whistleblower Terry James Albury, a former FBI agent in Minneapolis, will be sentenced for violations of the Espionage Act on Thursday, October 17, at 11:00 am Central Time. The…