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.
1,837 Articles
Don’t Be So Quick to Call Those Disclosures “Legal”
Following multiple reports that President Trump disclosed highly classified information to Russian officials at a private meeting, various legal experts have asserted that Trump…
The Flagrant Foul in Trump’s Disclosure of Classified Info to Russia: The Missing Interagency Process
It was a far more effective strategy for the White House not to deny the facts of the Washington Post report that the president had disclosed information to Russia, but instead…
Five Takeaways from Gen. H.R. McMaster Press Briefing
Here are five key points made by Gen. H.R. McMaster in the press briefing held on Tuesday morning. 1. McMaster said that what President Donald Trump did was “wholly appropriate”…
Just How Sensitive Was the Information Trump Reportedly Revealed to the Russians?
Given today’s bombshell report by the Washington Post claiming President Donald Trump revealed classified information relating to the Islamic State to senior Russian officials…
Never Waste A Good Crisis, FBI Edition
President Trump’s decision to summarily dismiss now-former FBI Director James Comey has sparked grave concerns in many quarters. The move has been described as a profoundly…
President Trump: Don’t Replace Andrew McCabe
Yesterday, James’ Comey’s former deputy, now Acting Director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, demonstrated that he, too, is willing to speak his mind (read: will not be…
Q&A on Comey Firing, Russia Investigation and More
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, there have been a handful of new revelations reported on the status of the investigations into…
National Security-Related Congressional Hearings, May 8-May 12
Monday, May 8 2:30pm – Senate Judiciary Committee – Russian Interference in the 2016 United States Election (here) Tuesday, May 9 9:30am – Senate Committee on Armed Services…
Today’s ODNI and Section 702 News
Today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) announced that it would stop some of the surveillance it conducts on the telecommunications backbone under authority…
Letter to the Editor: Why Concerns Over FBI Queries Under Section 702 Are Overblown
In her recent article, “Broad Warrantless Surveillance Threatens to Undermine the Criminal Justice System,” Sarah St.Vincent writes that Attorney General Jeff Sessions’…
Questions to Ask As DHS Proposes Border Drones With Facial Recognition
In what could prove to be a Frankenstein combination of invasive technologies, the Department of Homeland Security is considering a project to arm Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)…
Broad Warrantless Surveillance Threatens to Undermine the Criminal Justice System
Congressional debates about the renewal of one of the United States’ most sweeping intelligence surveillance laws are heating up. Helping to shape the discussion are several…