Via LLRX – Why does the Senate confirm Trump’s picks for key posts — and how? – Legal scholar Jennifer L. Selin explains the confirmation process and the ‘constitutional loophole’ of recess appointments. Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Government Documents
Inside the Massive U.S. ‘Border Zone’
Bloomberg [May 14, 2018 article worth revisiting now] All of Michigan, D.C., and a large chunk of Pennsylvania are part of the area where Border Patrol has expanded search and seizure rights. Here’s what it means to live or travel there…the border zone is home to 65.3 percent of the entire U.S. population, and around… Continue Reading
The intensifying threat of Donald Trump’s emolument
CREW: Donald Trump will violate the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses if he serves as president and fails to divest from his businesses. Likely sources of his illegal emoluments would include, but not be limited to: Truth Social parent company, Trump Media and Technology Group Trump World Tower Saudi-funded LIV Golf league and Real estate… Continue Reading
End of Trump Cases Leaves Limits on Presidential Criminality Unclear
The New York Times [free to read]: “The end of the two federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald J. Trump on Monday left momentous, unsettled questions about constraints on criminal wrongdoing by presidents, from the scope of presidential immunity to whether the Justice Department may continue to appoint outside special counsels to investigate high-level wrongdoing.… Continue Reading
The New Administration: A Boon for Investigative Journalism
Via LLRX – The New Administration: A Boon for Investigative Journalism – This commentary by Michael Ravnitzky highlights the critical period ahead for investigative journalism under the new presidential administration. Controversial stances and policy shifts will provide many more opportunities than usual for journalists to uncover and report on critical issues, ensuring that the administration’s… Continue Reading
527 Explorer
ProPublica 527 Explorer – “Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars flow through political organizations known as 527s. These organizations are not regulated by the Federal Election Commission and are not subject to FEC-style restrictions on who can contribute or how much they can give, though donations are not tax deductible. These groups are spending… Continue Reading
A Timeless Guide to Subverting Any Organization with “Purposeful Stupidity”
Open Culture – Discover the CIA’s Simple Sabotage Field Manual: A Timeless Guide to Subverting Any Organization with “Purposeful Stupidity” (1944): “…Now declassified and freely available on the CIA website, the manual that the agency describes as “surprisingly relevant” was once distributed to OSS officers abroad to assist them in training “citizen-saboteurs” in occupied countries… Continue Reading
The stunning success of vaccines in America, in one chart
Vox – “Measles, mumps, and polio are supposed to be diseases of the past. In the early to mid-20th century, scientists developed vaccines that effectively eliminated the risk of anyone getting sick or dying from illnesses that had killed millions over millennia of human history. Vaccines, alongside sanitized water and antibiotics, have marked the epoch… Continue Reading
The Technology the Trump Administration Could Use to Hack Your Phone
The New Yorker [unpaywalled] – “Other Western democracies have been roiled by the use of spyware to target political opponents, activists, journalists, and other vulnerable groups. Could it happen here? In September, the Department of Homeland Security (D.H.S.) signed a two-million-dollar contract with Paragon, an Israeli firm whose spyware product Graphite focusses on breaching encrypted-messaging… Continue Reading
Appointment and Confirmation of Executive Branch Leadership: An Overview
Professor Bert Chapman, Govt. Information & Political Science Librarian, Purdue University: March 2021 CRS prepared this report on appointing and confirming executive branch leadership. With confirmation hearings upcoming, this should be a good resource for our users and I imagine CRS will produce a new version in the near future. Continue Reading
Trump’s criminal conviction won’t stop him from getting security clearance as president
Via LLRX – Trump’s criminal conviction won’t stop him from getting security clearance as president – Law professor Dakota Rudesill explains that because Trump was elected to a second term, he will again have expansive access to classified information and control over it as of noon on Jan. 20, 2025, when his term begins. He will also… Continue Reading
Congress should designate an entity to oversee data security, GAO says
Fedscoop: “Federal agencies may need to rethink how they handle individuals’ personal data to protect their civil rights and civil liberties, a congressional watchdog said in a new report Tuesday. Without federal guidance governing the protection of the public’s civil rights and liberties, agencies have pursued a patchwork system of policies tied to the collection,… Continue Reading
