Recent Articles
The U.S. Strike against Pro-Assad Forces and the 2001 AUMF
U.S. officials have said that the U.S.-led coalition in Syria struck pro-Assad forces that were advancing inside an established “de-confliction” zone and toward a military…
The Early Edition: May 19, 2017
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news. TRUMP-RUSSIA INVESTIGATION…
U.S. Strike in Syria: The (Non) Legal Issues and Lingering Questions
Officials with the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (the coalition task force organized to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq) have now confirmed that U.S.-led…
Comey’s Subtle Hints About What’s Going on Behind the Scenes
James Comey really is the master of the contemporaneous record. He’s been laying down a breadcrumb trail of clues about what’s going on behind the scenes not just in his memos,…
So You Want to Share Intelligence with Russia … There Are Less Risky Ways to Do It
President Donald Trump clearly believes there is an opportunity for the United States to work with Russia on counterterrorism and the fight against ISIS. Some commentators who’ve defended his…
When is a Mercenary (Not) a Mercenary? The Case of Foreign Fighters in the UAE’s Military
When the going gets tough, politics tends to trump law, and words start to lose meaning. You can see it in the culture of sloppiness and misdirection that has developed around…
The Early Edition: May 18, 2017
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news. TRUMP-RUSSIA INVESTIGATION…
The Impeachment Clause and Two Types of “Bribery”
It is one of the most insidious developments of our constitutional discourse that many people still believe that the grounds for impeachment are, “whatever the House of Representatives…
The Downward Spiral
Last week, I questioned whether President Donald Trump might have potentially engaged in the obstruction of justice when he fired then-FBI Director James Comey. Yesterday, another…
Why Trump’s Disclosure to Russia (and Urging Comey to Drop the Flynn Investigation, and Various Other Actions) Could Be Unlawful
President Trump’s disclosure of highly classified information about the Islamic State to Russian officials has been widely decried as “terrifying,” “reckless,” and “deeply…
Assessing the Damage of the President’s Intelligence Sharing with Russia
Following the Washington Post’s revelations Monday night, the legality of President Donald Trump’s decision to share sensitive information related to the ISIS bomb threat to…
A Prosecutor’s View: The Evidence of Trump’s Obstruction is Now Compelling
There has been considerable discussion over the last week about whether President Donald Trump committed the crime of obstruction of justice when he fired James Comey as director…