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Liza Goitein

@lizagoitein.bsky.social
9.3K followers 7 following 734 posts

Senior Director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, reformed oboist and whitewater kayaker, mom of teenage twins. Opinions are my own.

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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
On Sunday, the Trump administration missed a statutory deadline to declassify a FISA Court opinion from March that reportedly finds more Section 702 compliance issues affecting Americans’ rights. The administration is now in violation of the law. 1/18
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Last Friday, the nation solemnly observed the 25th anniversary of the heinous attacks of 9-11. Today marks a related anniversary that has gone largely unnoticed, as we begin the 26th year under the state of emergency declared on Sept. 14, 2001. 1/14
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Thread.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Jay Clayton has been sworn in as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). What’s next for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act? 1/17
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Today, two dozen national and local organizations wrote to Governor Green and asked him to recall the Hawai’i National Guard forces that he sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s request. 1/10 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
brennancenter.org
Coalition Letter to Governor Green
The Brennan Center and more than twenty other organizations have sent a letter to Governor Green urging him to recall the Hawai’i National Guard members he sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s...
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Today, more than two dozen national and local organizations wrote to Governor Whitmer and asked her to recall the Michigan National Guard forces that she sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s request. 1/11 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
brennancenter.org
Coalition Letter to Governor Whitmer
The Brennan Center and more than two dozen other organizations have sent a letter to Governor Whitmer urging her to recall the Michigan National Guard members she sent to Washington, DC, at President ...
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Nineteen retired senior defense and military leaders who served under presidents of both parties have sent an extraordinary letter to 18 governors expressing concern over other governors’ recent deployments of National Guard forces to DC at Trump’s request. 1/8
natsec-letter-to-gov-spanberger-va-re-dc-deployments-2026-07-01.tiiny.site
NatSec-Letter-to-Gov-Spanberger-VA-re-DC-Deployments-2026-07-01
NatSec-Letter-to-Gov-Spanberger-VA-re-DC-Deployments-2026-07-01
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Over the past two weeks, five governors who previously condemned other states’ deployment of National Guard forces into Washington, DC have sent some of their own Guard forces into the city. Fortunately, at least two appear to be recognizing their mistake. 1/15
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
An important new @brennancenter.org resource from my colleague @josephanunn.bsky.social.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Section 702 sunsets today. What’s next? Surveillance can continue until March 2027 under a grandfather clause. In the meantime, Congress must take this opportunity to build real protections for Americans’ privacy into any Section 702 2.0. 1/17
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Senator Cornyn just blocked a 9-month extension of Section 702 with a warrant requirement for backdoor searches. He then blocked a 5-week extension with no warrant requirement, just basic transparency measures. 1/2
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Sharing two new resources on FISA Section 702. First, my op-ed in @thehill.com today on why Pulte isn’t the only reason Section 702 renewal is stuck (spoiler alert: Republican leadership is refusing to allow votes on reforms that have broad bipartisan support): 1/2 thehill.com/opinion/cong...
thehill.com
Beyond Pulte, Congress cannot renew spy law without reforms
Pulte or no Pulte, renewal of Section 702 will be an uphill battle unless Republican leaders allow votes on genuine reform.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
At dawn this morning, the Senate voted 47-52 not to advance a Section 702 reauthorization that would have given the Trump administration warrantless access to Americans’ communications. It’s an interim victory… but it’s crucial to take the right lessons from it. 1/11
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Members of Congress who will not vote to reauthorize Section 702 as long as Bill Pulte is slated to become acting Director of National Intelligence aren’t jeopardizing national security—they’re protecting it. 1/15
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
The Senate will take up Section 702 reauthorization again as early as tomorrow. The bill from reform opponents (Trump allies in Congress + Sen. Warner) doesn’t just fail to curb warrantless domestic spying. It actually expands the govt’s ability to use 702 against Americans. 1/18
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
On Friday, the Trump administration, which is demanding that Congress pass a straight reauthorization of FISA Section 702, missed a deadline to declassify a FISA Court opinion that reportedly reveals yet more major Section 702 compliance problems. 1/14
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
In today's @justsecurity.org, my colleague @hannahajames.bsky.social & I analyze Speaker Johnson's "new" proposal to reauthorize Section 702. It's the same as the one the House just rejected, and it places no new restrictions on backdoor searches. www.justsecurity.org/137206/johns...
justsecurity.org
Fool’s Gold: Speaker Johnson’s Section 702 proposal would place no limits on backdoor searches
A critique of the Speaker's most recent legislative proposal to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
After his spectacular failure to push through a reauthorization of Section 702 in the dead of night last Thursday, Speaker Johnson is trying again—with a new proposal that’s almost identical to the one that failed last week. 1/18
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Speaker Johnson has dropped a new proposal to reauthorize Section 702. Not only does it fail to include a warrant requirement for backdoor searches, it makes no changes AT ALL to the standard or the procedures currently in place for conducting these searches. I'll have a thread coming soon.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Two senators you don’t often see together on a byline. As this important op-ed demonstrates, there’s broad bipartisan support for reforming Section 702 to protect Americans’ rights. Thank you @durbin.senate.gov & Senator Mike Lee for your leadership on this issue. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | We Disagree on a Lot. But We Know This Law Must Change.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
In a dramatic scene that unfolded in the wee hours this morning, members of the House defeated a ploy by the administration and Speaker Johnson to ram through a 5-year reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Here’s what happened, and what will/should happen next. 1/20
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
The @nytimes.com has a story tonight that should put a nail in the coffin of the administration’s plans to push a straight reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Bottom line: the FBI is seemingly *still* engaged in systemic violations of the law. 1/20 www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/u...
nytimes.com
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Helpful thread pointing out errors in Glenn Gerstell's Lawfare piece about Section 702. I'll add another one... 1/3 bsky.app/profile/jake...
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
A new “staff report” on Section 702 came out of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) today. It’s a puff piece that suggests the FBI isn’t conducting *enough* warrantless searches for Americans’ communications. Here’s why the report can’t be taken seriously. 1/7
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Opponents of reforming FISA Section 702 cite a government statistic showing “only” a few thousand warrantless searches of Americans’ communications in 2024-25. In @justsecurity.org, @hannahajames.bsky.social & I discuss the truth behind that misleading statistic. www.justsecurity.org/135283/truth...
justsecurity.org
The Truth Behind Section 702 Query Statistics
Authors write that Congress must now impose a warrant requirement for Section 702 access to Americans' communications.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Take a look at this important -- and timely! -- report from my @brennancenter.org colleagues @amostoh.bsky.social and @emileayoub.bsky.social on the Defense Department's race to adopt AI and the resulting risks to civil liberties and even human life.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court has held that Trump’s worldwide tariffs exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The decision is a victory for the rule of law and the separation of powers. 1/18 www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
supremecourt.gov
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Yesterday we learned that the Department of Justice is monitoring and tracking members of Congress’s searches of the Epstein files. There’s no sugar coating it: the administration is spying on lawmakers as they exercise their constitutional oversight responsibilities. 1/10
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
My colleague @hannahajames.bsky.social has an important post in today's @justsecurity.org debunking DHS's claim that it has legal authority to enter homes without warrants.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
After ICE agents wrestled Alex Pretti to the ground, beat him, and shot him to death, Governor Walz activated state National Guard forces at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s request. The sheriff cited “the potential for continuing and growing conflict” due to the killing. 1/20
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
President Trump is once again threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act, this time in Minneapolis. That would be a flagrant and particularly dangerous abuse of the Act—one that would threaten the rule of law and public safety alike. 1/13
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
SCOTUS’s decision in Trump v. Illinois ended Trump’s efforts to federalize National Guard forces under 10 USC 12406. In today’s @justsecurity.org, I explain why it could also complicate any efforts invoke the Insurrection Act or inherent constitutional power. www.justsecurity.org/128371/trump...
justsecurity.org
Trump v. Illinois: A Narrow Supreme Court Decision with Broad Implications
The implications of Supreme Court decision, 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑣. 𝐼𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠, for deploying federal military forces to American cities.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
The Trump administration claims there was no need for Congress to authorize the military attack in Venezuela because the military was merely supporting a “law enforcement operation” (i.e., executing arrest warrants against the Maduros). That’s wrong on multiple counts. 1/20
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Important and timely piece by @chrismirasola.bsky.social in today's @lawfare on why Trump couldn't deploy active-duty troops to perform security functions for ICE under a claim of inherent constitutional power to protect federal property/personnel/functions. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/conf...
lawfaremedia.org
Confronting the Protective Power
The president’s theory of constitutional authority to deploy active-duty troops is more dangerous than the government’s briefing suggests.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
The Supreme Court just heard oral arguments in the challenge to Trump’s worldwide tariffs. No matter how the Court rules (and I’ll do just a tiny bit of tea leaf-reading here), its decision will have enormous implications for the scope of presidential power. 1/25
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
My take on the appellate courts' rulings in the Nat'l Guard cases, & why SCOTUS should follow the approach of the 7th Circuit (which held that the deployment was untethered to the facts), not the 9th Circuit (which accepted the admin's alternate reality): www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
brennancenter.org
Appeals Courts Split on Domestic Military Deployments
The Supreme Court must now recognize how excessive judicial deference to the president can endanger Americans’ fundamental liberties.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
By a 2-1 opinion, the Ninth Circuit just held that the president can federalize the National Guard forces and deploy them when protesters shine flashlights in the eyes of ICE officers. It’s one of the most dangerous and legally flawed court decisions I’ve seen this year. 1/23
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
President Trump is abusing emergency powers to evade legal constraints on his actions, but he doesn’t actually have many of the powers he claims to have. My take in @gtownnatsec.bsky.social’s special edition on national security issues in the second Trump administration: tinyurl.com/3434ss8e
tinyurl.com
The Dangers and Limits of Government by Emergency Rule - Georgetown Law - Center on National Security
By Elizabeth Goitein
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Portland is off — for now. Last night, Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the deployment of ANY federalized National Guard forces in Portland. 1/7
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
This morning, hours after a federal judge ruled that it would be illegal to federalize and deploy Oregon National Guard troops in Portland, Trump deployed federalized California National Guard troops in Portland. 1/16
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
This morning, President Trump and Secretary Hegseth spoke to 800 high-ranking generals and admirals who had been called away from their stations around the world. At the meeting, Trump said he’d told Hegseth he should use American cities as “training grounds” for the military. 1/6
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Before this administration, presidents had deployed the military to quell civil unrest or enforce the law only 30 times in the nation’s entire history. As of yesterday, President Trump has done so three times (with a fourth in the works) in just over eight months. 1/5
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
According to his social media post, President Trump is once again poised to send the military into an American city. This time it’s “War ravaged” Portland… a description that would baffle any actual Portland resident. 1/12
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Facing stiff legal and political resistance to his military deployments in Los Angeles and D.C., Trump now seems to be shifting strategies and targeting blue cities in red states, such as Memphis and New Orleans. It’s bad news with a small silver lining. 1/24
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
A thorough synopsis of Judge Breyer's ruling in California's challenge to President Trump's deployment of the military in Los Angeles, from my @brennancenter.org colleague @josephanunn.bsky.social.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
The Pentagon is reportedly planning to mobilize thousands of National Guard forces and deploy them in Chicago for the purpose of crime control. Trump is on even thinner legal ice with this plan than he is in Los Angeles and D.C. 1/12 www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
washingtonpost.com
Pentagon plans military deployment in Chicago as Trump eyes crackdown
President Donald Trump said Chicago is his next likely target to crack down on urban crime. Military planning has been ongoing for weeks, officials say.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
At Trump’s request, multiple red state governors are sending hundreds of armed National Guard forces into DC. This military occupation of the district is unprecedented and unjustified. If it’s allowed to stand, this country will be well on its way to becoming a police state. 1/22
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
My take in @justsecurity.org re: Trump's repurposing of federalized Guard forces in Los Angeles to assist DEA in conducting drug raids several hours outside the city. In short: it's an alarming and likely illegal escalation.
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted the Trump administration’s request to stay a district court order that would have returned control of the California National Guard to Governor Newsom. 1/25 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
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Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
The Department of Defense has confirmed that U.S. Marines detained a civilian—reportedly an Army veteran who crossed a yellow tape boundary on his way to an office of the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is an apparent violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. 1/16 www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
reuters.com
Exclusive: US Marines carry out first known detention of civilian in Los Angeles, video shows
Marines deployed to Los Angeles carried out the detention of a civilian on Friday, the U.S. military confirmed after being presented with Reuters images, in the first known detention by active-duty troops deployed there by President Donald Trump.
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