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
It Ain’t Easy Getting a FISA Warrant: I Was an FBI Agent and Should Know
In his latest round of twiplash, President Trump on Saturday leveled a very serious accusation: that President Obama had personally ordered the “tapping” of telephone lines…
Tapping Trump?
Once again, Donald Trump has kicked off a media firestorm with a series of early-morning Tweets, this time leveling the serious accusation that “President Obama had my ‘wires…
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (Feb. 24 – Mar. 3)
WHITE HOUSE As the White House continues to deny there is anything of concern between the Trump team and Russia, Spicer tried to quash stories, and republicans in Congress denied…
Whistleblower Retaliation: A Governmental Accountability and National Security Crisis
The role of an Inspector General (IG) office in a federal agency or department is to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, and where necessary refer criminal conduct to the Justice…
Five Reasons Why the Republican Russia “Investigation” Falls Short
Congressional Republicans’ responses to Russian attacks on the American political system have ranged from inadequate to damaging. Republican leadership seeks to bury this investigation…
War of the Worst Case Scenarios
A few nightmare scenarios haunt the dreams of civil libertarians—scenes drawn from our long and ignominious history of intelligence abuses. One—call it the Nixon scenario—is…
A Look at the Case of the ex-CIA Officer Being Extradited to Italy for Her Role in a 2003 Rendition
A Gulfstream IV business jet similar to the one suspected of transporting Abu Omar during his rendition. (Eugene Butler/Wikimedia Commons) [This post has been updated to reflect…
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (Feb. 17-24)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of…
Whistleblower Reinstated in Job in Test Case for NSA and Intelligence Community
In a case that has been closely followed as a test for new whistleblower protections put in place by President Obama, it can now be reported that the whistleblower received restitution…
New Case Proves Intelligence Community Whistleblowers Have Protections
NSA headquarters, Ft. Meade, Md. In December, Adm. Mike Rogers, director of the NSA, placed the agency’s Inspector General (IG), Dr. George Ellard, on administrative leave and…
Just Security Event: Surveillance and the Trump Administration
Join Just Security for a fireside chat on U.S. surveillance and a celebration of Jennifer Granick‘s new book, American Spies: Modern Surveillance, Why You Should Care, And What…
Trump’s CVE Program: Going From Bad to Worse
Men walk to Friday Prayer at the Omar Mosque in Paterson, N.J. in 2012 after revelations that the NYPD had crossed into New Jersey to conduct surveillance on Newark and area muslims.…