The US system that classifies and protects secrets has emerged in a curious way since the 20th century.
Articles on US national security
Displaying 1 - 20 of 23 articles
America’s intelligence bosses would not accept that ‘Signal-gate’ represented a breach of security.
During the Cold War, the US poured support into Arctic military outposts and climate research amid fears of a Russian invasion. Climate change is still on the military’s radar as a threat multiplier.
The highest-ranking military officer in the country, the chairman has no direct command authority. His role is as a presidential adviser rather than a decision-maker.
During the first Trump administration, intelligence workers at many levels made political judgments about the information they assembled.
The director of the CIA is responsible for overseeing the agency’s clandestine operations and advising the president on national security matters.
The Department of Homeland Security’s massive bureaucracy has many critical national security functions and spends billions of taxpayer dollars seeking to keep the nation safe.
Chinese hackers are alleged to have broken into US phone networks, giving Chinese intelligence services a window onto specific Americans’ phone and messaging activity.
Under normal circumstances, Trump’s criminal record and other aspects of his life, including financial history, would disqualify him from getting access to classified information.
Under normal circumstances, Trump’s criminal record and other aspects of his life, including financial history, would disqualify him from getting access to classified information.
Privacy advocates lost out when Congress reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act without major reforms. But the renewal fight returns in 2 years.
The big question: Would climate engineering like sending reflective particles into the stratosphere or brightening clouds help reduce the national security risks of climate change or make them worse?
Nuclear weapons production and testing contaminated many sites across the US and exposed people unknowingly to radiation and toxic materials. Some have gone uncompensated for decades.
One of the bedrock principles of the American legal system is that no one is above the law. When it comes to indicting a former US president, political factors must also be weighed.
There are 38 felony charges against former President Donald Trump, and while it’s unlikely, he could potentially be sentenced to serve 400 years if found guilty on all of them.
Spy cases are rare. More typically, as in the Trump indictment, the act applies to the unauthorized gathering, possessing or transmitting of certain sensitive government information.
The handling of US classified information received another stain as a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman stands accused of mishandling secret documents on US allies and the war in Ukraine.
A search warrant expert breaks down the affidavit the FBI used to search Mar-a-Lago, and the national security concerns it presents.
Trump’s lawsuit against the FBI has been criticized as baseless. But it spotlights a loophole in federal law that doesn’t protect people’s rights when they are subjected to a search warrant.
Other presidents used the Defense Production Act to boost fossil fuel supplies. Biden is now using it to boost clean energy. But just ramping up production isn’t enough to succeed.
Top contributors
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Distinguished Practitioner in Residence, Loyola University Chicago
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Professor of law and ethics, Georgia State University
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Associate Professor of Law, The Ohio State University
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Co-Director, National Security and Civil Rights Program, Loyola University Chicago
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Professor of the Practice of International Relations, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
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Professor Emeritus of Communication, North Carolina State University
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Professor of Law, Harvard University
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Associate Professor of National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School
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Professor of Criminal Law, Immigration, and Race and Law, University of California, Davis
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Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University
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Professor of Law and Ethics, Georgia Institute of Technology
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Research Scientist in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke University
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Teaching Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and Associate Director, UMBC Cybersecurity Institute, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Director, McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security, Auburn University
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Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Auburn University
