Department of Justice (DOJ)
383 Articles
Is Throwing a Rock Through a Window “Terrorism”? Some Federal Prosecutors Think So
Image by Tomas Castelazo— Wikimedia Did you know that throwing a rock through the window of a Whole Foods could be punished as a federal crime of terrorism? An Assistant United…
Guest Post: What is FBI Director Comey Doing?
Amidst the furor following the FBI and Justice Department’s decision not to charge Hillary Clinton for the handling of her State Department emails, there has been much less attention…
The Obama Administration Has Embraced Legal Theories Even Broader Than John Yoo’s
The Justice Department recently released another of the now-notorious Office of Legal Counsel memos written by John Yoo — memos that authorized torture, warrantless wiretapping,…
Trump and Torture
Presidential candidate Donald Trump has made headlines with his campaign promise to revive torture as a US government practice. First, with his signature bluster, Trump declared…
More Transparent Than Thou
At the dawn of his second term, President Obama declared, “This is the most transparent administration in history, and I can document how that is the case.” But three years…
Power Wars Symposium: A Study in Contrasting Views of Executive Authority
Editor’s Note: This is the latest entry in a symposium Just Security is hosting in conjunction with the recent release of Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency by…
The Government Should Stop Rewarding Bad Policies for Police Body Cameras
Body cameras have major potential to increase police accountability. However, without informed policies governing their use, they might not only fail in this goal, they could actually…
Power Wars Symposium: The Powers Wars Debate and the Question of the Role of the Lawyer in Crisis
Editor’s Note: This is the latest entry in a symposium Just Security is hosting in conjunction with the recent release of Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency…
Lawyering in Secret and the Government’s FOIA Bogeyman
Last week, in Washington, the Central Intelligence Agency’s top lawyer aired a pointed complaint — or was it a warning? — that has been bubbling about for some time. At an…
Secret Law Isn’t the Public’s Fault
Officials in this administration have a funny way of blaming the victim. Did the CIA spy on Senate intelligence committee staffers who were investigating the agency’s torture…
After the NDAA Veto: Now What?
This time, he’s serious. After all these years of unexecuted veto threats, on October 22, 2015, President Obama finally vetoed the $612 billion National Defense and Authorization…
There’s No Reason to Hide the Amount of Secret Law
Last week, President Obama announced a new policy that would allow private parties to pay ransoms to hostage takers. The policy was established through an executive order and an…