A bill “to provide safe, fair, and responsible procedures and standards for resolving claims of state secrets privilege” was introduced in the House of Representatives this week by Rep. Jerrold Nadler and several Democratic colleagues. Essentially, the bill (HR 5956) would require courts to render an independent assessment of the validity of a government assertion […]
Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper issued a directive earlier this month to improve the protection of intelligence information and to help prevent unauthorized disclosures. The newly revised Intelligence Community Directive 700 requires a new degree of collaboration between counterintelligence and security activities. While counterintelligence (CI) was scarcely mentioned in the previous version of […]
A 2008 report by the Congressional Research Service discussed the history of claims of executive privilege, including various unresolved questions surrounding its use. The Obama Administration asserted executive privilege today in connection with records sought by a House Committee. See Presidential Claims of Executive Privilege: History, Law, Practice and Recent Developments, updated August 21, 2008. […]
An updated report from the Congressional Research Service proposes a series of questions to help inform and guide congressional debate on the future of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and its aftermath. See In Brief: Next Steps in the War in Afghanistan? Issues for Congress, June 15, 2012. Other new and (mostly) updated CRS reports […]
The Department of Defense has identified 110 sites in the United States that could serve as bases for military unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones. A new report to Congress lists each of the 110 sites “and the UAS likely to fly at that location.” See “Report to Congress on Future Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training, […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service which have not been made publicly accessible include the following. Alternative Fuel and Advanced Vehicle Technology Incentives: A Summary of Federal Programs, June 12, 2012 SBA New Markets Venture Capital Program, June 12, 2012 Health Insurance Premium Credits in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act […]
“The unauthorized release of classified information is a crime–it is a crime–because it threatens our national security and puts the lives of those who are sworn to defend our Nation in jeopardy,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said on the Senate floor yesterday. “Everyone agrees [this] is criminal conduct.” A resolution introduced by Sen. John […]
New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service include the following. Mexican Migration to the United States: Policy and Trends, June 7, 2012 Mexico’s Drug Trafficking Organizations: Source and Scope of the Rising Violence, June 8, 2012 International Monetary Fund: Background and Issues for Congress, June 12, 2012 The Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, June […]
The brewing controversy over leaks of classified information presumes that disclosures of classified information to unauthorized persons are always impermissible and undesirable. But that presumption does not correspond precisely to the reality of government operations as they are conducted in practice. The leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees said last week that they […]
Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee are divided over whether there is a loophole in current law which would permit government agencies to monitor the communications of American citizens without any kind of warrant or other judicial authorization. The dispute was presented but not resolved in a new Senate Intelligence Committee report on the Foreign […]
The integration of drones or unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) needs to be expedited, the Senate Armed Services Committee said in its report on the FY2013 defense authorization bill last week. “While progress has been made in the last 5 years, the pace of development must be accelerated; greater cross-agency […]
The U.S. military is placing too much emphasis on defense against cyber attacks when it should be developing offensive cyber capabilities, according to Sen. John McCain. “”I am very concerned that our strategy is too reliant on defensive measures in cyber space, and believe we need to develop the capability to go on the offense […]