Congressional Oversight
443 Articles

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…

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…

Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (Feb. 3-10)
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…
Congressional Oversight in the Trump Era: Strategic Choices
Republican congressional leaders face stark strategic choices as Donald Trump assumes control of the White House. A period of acrimonious divided government will be supplanted…
National Security-Related Congressional Hearings, November 14–18
Tuesday, November 15 10:30am – House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform – Oversight of the Secret Service (here) Wednesday, November 16 10:00am – House Committee…
Correcting the Record on Section 702: A Prerequisite for Meaningful Surveillance Reform, Part III
In our previous posts, we’ve argued that the NSA is collecting massive amounts of data about US citizens under conditions that have nothing to do with terrorism or national…
Correcting the Record on Section 702: A Prerequisite for Meaningful Surveillance Reform, Part II
Last week, we argued that the public discussion surrounding two of the government’s most controversial mass surveillance programs – PRISM and Upstream – has not sufficiently…
No More Snowdens? Start by Reforming the House Intelligence Committee
Last Thursday, the House Intelligence Committee (HPSCI) issued a report condemning Edward Snowden and its members unanimously urged President Obama to decline public calls to grant…
The Saudi Weapons Block Wouldn’t be the First: Some Past Examples of Halts on US Arms Transfers
In the United States, concerns over the conduct of the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen have grown in intensity in recent weeks amid reports that US-supplied weapons have…
Unprecedented and Unlawful: The NSA’s “Upstream” Surveillance
The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) — the statute the government uses to engage in warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international communications — is scheduled to…
Correcting the Record on Section 702: A Prerequisite for Meaningful Surveillance Reform
The legal authority behind the controversial PRISM and Upstream surveillance programs used by the NSA to collect large swaths of private communications from leading Internet companies…
Senators Move to Block US Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia
A bipartisan group of four US senators yesterday introduced a joint resolution aimed at blocking the U.S. sale of more than $1.15 billion in M1 Abrams tanks and other weapons…