Ethics
58 Articles

The Guantánamo Ethics Mess
The latest episode in the Military Commission’s efforts to try Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri for the U.S.S. Cole bombing is a dramatic dispute between Air Force Col. Vance Spath,…

Indefensible: Why Guantánamo defense lawyers can’t ethically participate any longer
On Friday, Guantánamo death penalty lawyer Richard Kammen announced in a press release that: Brig. Gen. John Baker, the Chief Defense Counsel for the Military Commissions Defense…

Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (August 4-August 11)
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…

Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (June 30-July 7)
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…

Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (May 19-26)
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…

A Duty to Disobey?
The United States is in the midst of an uncertain era of complex global threats. Some have described the nation’s defense policy as one of “forever war.” During this…

Keeping Track of Trump’s Conflicts of Interest [Updated Dec. 5]
Since the election, there has been a firehose of news: President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, rumors about Trump’s cabinet picks, a Neo-Nazi conference in Washington,…

10 Steps to Avoid Becoming a Tin Pot Kleptocracy (and safeguard our national security in the process)
The President-elect must make his tax returns public. The public at large will then know precisely the nature and form of his extensive business interests. The President-elect…

The Case Against Serving
Two of my friends, both of them principled and talented conservatives, told me they were approached by members of the Trump team about possible posts in the incoming administration.…

Anticipating Trump: Should Government Lawyers Stay or Go?
[Editors’ note: This post is the latest in Just Security’s series on the ethical and legal dilemmas of serving in the Trump administration. On Friday, Jon Michaels wrote…