Congressional Oversight
435 Articles

Unhappy 16th Anniversary, Guantanamo Bay
It’s hard to believe, but here we are marking yet another anniversary of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. It’s not a happy one. Hidden and inaccessible as they are on…

The House Intelligence Committee’s Section 702 Bill is a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Image: Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein, DNI Daniel Coats, and NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on the…

Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (Dec. 2017)
Image: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) speaks about bipartisan legislation to help prevent sexual harassment on Dec. 6, 2017 on Capitol Hill (Alex Wong/Getty) Sign up here to receive…

What Will You Do if Mueller is Fired?
Street protest outside Trump International Hotel and Tower, New York City, March 8, 2017. Photo credit: Melissa Bender “Whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws…

Despite Years of Recommendations, Government Still Rewards Bad Policies for Body Cameras
In the last several years, we have seen a boom in the use of police body cameras. Departments across the country have adopted the cameras, and most of the nation’s largest cities…

“Congressional Authorizations on Use of Force,” by Defense Dep’t Principal Deputy General Counsel William Castle (Full Text)
On Monday evening, William S. Castle, the Pentagon’s top lawyer, gave a speech entitled, “Congressional Authorizations on Use of Force?,” at the New York City Bar Association.…

The House Intelligence Committee’s Section 702 Markup Was a Politicized Debacle
On Dec. 1, 2017, the House Intelligence Committee took the unusual step of holding an open markup of its bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance…

Why Microsoft Challenged the Right Law: A Response to Orin Kerr
This coming spring, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the United States v. Microsoft – a case that will determine the authority of U.S. law enforcement to compel, via…

Responding to the Myths About Reforming FISA’s Section 702
Image: National Security Agency headquarters, Fort Meade, Md. As the New Year’s deadline for reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) approaches,…

Warrantless Backdoor Searches are Not “Business as Usual”
This week, Just Security ran two posts, one by Matt Olsen and one by Asha Rangappa, defending the government’s warrantless access to Americans’ communications obtained “incidentally”…

Former Prosecutor Renato Mariotti’s Tweet Threads on National Security (Nov. 25-Dec. 1)
Here is an exposition and analysis of some of this week’s national security-related threads authored by Just Security Editorial Board member and former federal prosecutor Renato…

Flynn’s Turkish Delight: How, Why, and When He Reversed His Policy Positions on Turkey
Many commentators anticipate that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will likely indict retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn in part for the former National Security Advisor’s…