Trump Jr: “Declassify Everything!!!” December 6, 2020
On November 8 Donald J. Trump Jr., the President’s oldest son, tweeted: “DECLASSIFY EVERYTHING!!!” adding “We can’t let the bad actors get away with it.”…
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Personal Debt and National Security September 29, 2020
Last June the Department of Defense denied an application for security clearance for access to classified information because the applicant had “delinquent debts totaling about $24,000.”…
Read moreWhite House Rebuffs Declassification, Disclosure Requirements December 23, 2019
Congress adopted numerous new disclosure and reporting requirements in the government spending bill that was signed into law last week. But the Trump White House said that many of them…
Read moreWhite House Issues a “National” Science & Tech Agenda September 3, 2019
A new White House budget memo presents science and technology as a distinctly American-led enterprise in which U.S. dominance is to be maintained and reinforced.
Read moreElection Interference Emergency Order Nets No Culprits May 22, 2019
Last September, President Trump issued an executive order declaring a national emergency “to deal with the threat of foreign interference in United States elections.” Executive…
Read moreTrump Says DoD IG Reports Should Be “Private” January 7, 2019
The recurring dispute over the appropriate degree of secrecy in the Department of Defense arose in a new form last week when President Trump said that certain audits and investigations…
Read moreSome “Acting” Officials Will Soon Lose Authority November 6, 2017
Some government officials who are serving on an “acting” basis because a permanent replacement has not yet been named will lose their ability to function this…
Read moreCan the President Pardon Himself? August 29, 2017
The Congressional Research Service has prepared a summary overview of the presidential pardon power, addressing various legal questions such as: “whether the President can issue ‘prospective’ pardons;…
Read moreTrump Budget Would Reduce Most Federal R&D August 1, 2017
The Trump Administration budget request would cut federal spending on research and development in every major agency except for the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs, the Congressional Research Service…
Read moreLegality of Presidential Disclosures, Continued May 26, 2017
“There is no basis” for suggesting that President Trump’s disclosure of classified intelligence to Russian officials was illegal, wrote Morton Halperin this week. To the contrary, “senior…
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