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Children from the Anapra area stand on one side of the border wall while group of religious presbyters lead a prayer on the other side of the boarder wall between Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico and Sunland Park, New Mexico, US, on May 3, 2018.

Revised Justice Department Policy Still Silences Immigration Judges

Some of the sharpest critics of the Trump administration’s immigration policies are the former immigration judges who were once charged with enforcing them. But there’s a reason…
Trump and Bolton

John Bolton’s Silence — Here’s how he could lawfully break it

"If he wanted to, Bolton could this afternoon ..."
Bolton and Trump

Explainer: Prepublication Review and How it Applies to Bolton

An explainer of the key features of the prepublication review process and the significant discretion it gives the government to suppress protected speech—potentially including…
The Taedong river and city skyline of Pyongyang prior to the annual Pyongyang marathon on April 8, 2018.

Recent North Korea Sanctions Arrest Raises Questions About Free Speech Rights

Virgil Griffith, it’s safe to assume, did not have a happy Thanksgiving. On arriving at Los Angeles International Airport from abroad, he was arrested that day. An unsealed criminal…
Rohingya youth Mohammad Rafiq uses his mobile phone to take photos of a man by his shack at the Kutupalong refugee camp on July 23, 2019.

Social Media Vetting of Visa Applicants Violates the First Amendment

The Knight First Amendment Institute and the Brennan Center for Justice sued the US government to stop social media vetting of visa applicants.
Side by side photographs of Declan Walsh, Iyad El-Baghdadi, Jamal Khashoggi, and Omar Abdulaziz.

Duty to Warn: Has the Trump Administration Learned from the Khashoggi Failure?

This attitude shift alone, if it has indeed taken place, is commendable, but should not reduce scrutiny of what happened in the Declan Walsh case.
Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey speaks to members of the media at the Rayburn House Office Building after testifying to the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees on Capitol Hill December 07, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Nuts and Bolts of the IG Report on Comey: Correcting Misconceptions

On the morning of Aug. 29, I finished up my lecture notes for my first day teaching a class called “Law of Secrecy.” I would touch on classification, leaking, prepublication…
A chart with columns for the Department of Justice and the Central Intelligence Agency reads, “How long will it take?” DOJ: “Unclear, but a substantive response is required within 30 working days.” CIA: “As a general rule, 30 days. But lengthier, more complex submissions ‘may require a longer period of time for review.’” Question 2: “Is there a process for appealing censorship decisions?” DOJ: “Yes. Appeals are to the Deputy Attorney General, who will process appeals within 15 days.” CIA: “Yes. Appeals are to the Assistant Deputy Director.” Question 3: “Where do these rules come from?” DOJ: “28 C.F.R. 17.18” CIA: “CIA AR 13-10, Agency Prepublication Review of Certain Material Prepared for Public Dissemination (May 10, 2013); CIA Secrecy Agreement (Form 368).”

New Resource Tool Sheds Light on Government’s Prepublication Review System

For more than three years, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University have been litigating a series of Freedom of Information…
A visitor takes a selfie near a framed tweet by US President Donald Trump at "The Daily Show Presents: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library" exhibition in Washington, DC on June 14, 2019. The tweet is from August 6, 2012 and reads, “An ‘extremely credible source’ called my office and told me that @BarackObama’s birth certificate is a fraud.”

The Distorter-in-Chief is Hosting a Summit on Distortion on Social Media

By pushing Russian-planted disinformation and indulging America’s own conspiracy theorists, Trump is doing the opposite of what he claims to be attempting with the White House…
The end of a section of the border wall stands on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border, with Tijuana in the background, on April 3, 2019 in Otay Mesa, California. U.S.

Journalist Watchlist Raises Specter of Civil Rights-Era Secret Surveillance

Throughout his campaign and now his presidency, historians have drawn parallels between President Trump’s treatment of the news media and the Nixon White House’s efforts to…
Papers with the words "Confidential" and "Secret" written across.

Balancing the Law and Reporting: Reflections on the Assange Indictment and What It Means for Journalists

The superseding indictment of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has again sent First Amendment guardians to the ramparts, when what’s needed is a calm discussion of what threat…
Just Security

L’Affaire d’Assange: Why His Extradition May Be Blocked

The Department of Justice’s release of a superseding indictment accusing Julian Assange of numerous Espionage Act violations has stirred grave concern among defenders of a free…
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