Constitution
706 Articles
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…
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (May 5-12)
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…
Unconstitutional Motives: When US Policies Are Motivated Only in Part by Religious Discrimination
Few would dispute that government actions motivated wholly by religion violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. The question becomes more complicated if the motives are…
Reforming Surveillance In the Age of Donald Trump
Above: An NSA site in Germany. On Wednesday, the Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes (R-CA), gave a press conference in which he reported that Trump…
Incidental Collection Is Extremely Troubling, Regardless of Legality
A lot of ink has been spilled over statements by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Nunes that President Trump’s communications were incidentally collected pursuant to a surveillance…
Drawing a Line on Mass Surveillance: How Congress Must Reform Section 702
RAF Menwith Hill in the United Kingdom, host to U.S. National Security Agency facilities. On Monday, members of the House Intelligence Committee held an open hearing into Russian…
Encryption Backdoors, Vault 7, and the Jurassic Park Rule of Internet Security
Surely without a hint of irony, just a day after WikiLeaks dumped a vault-load of documents detailing the Central Intelligence Agency’s use of hacking tools and software exploits,…
A Small Step Toward a Better House of Representatives
Today the Committee on House Administration took a small but important step to restore the House of Representatives as an effective legislative and oversight body. It voted unanimously…
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…
What’s at Stake When Trump Discredits the Press
Donald Trump’s relentless media bashing has become one of the most persistent tropes of his cacophonous early time in office. He and his administration have called the press…
Why You Should Doubt Reports that the First Amendment Would Protect Gen. Flynn from Prosecution under the Logan Act
The Logan Act, a 1799 federal law that makes it a federal felony for a private person to engage in international diplomacy in a way that undermines U.S. foreign policy, has recently…
When Federal Courts Subtweet Sean Spicer…
On any other Monday, in any other year, it’s hard to imagine that today’s 19-page ruling by Judge Oetken in Nicholas v. City of New York would merit much attention.…