Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 16/09/2026On 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 34732
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Last 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 16133
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Jay 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 13018
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 15/07/2026Today, 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.orgCoalition Letter to Governor GreenThe 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... 24212
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 07/07/2026Today, 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.orgCoalition Letter to Governor WhitmerThe 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 ... 28747
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 01/07/2026Nineteen 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. 1/8natsec-letter-to-gov-spanberger-va-re-dc-deployments-2026-07-01.tiiny.siteNatSec-Letter-to-Gov-Spanberger-VA-re-DC-Deployments-2026-07-01NatSec-Letter-to-Gov-Spanberger-VA-re-DC-Deployments-2026-07-01 15030
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Over 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 22716
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 23/06/2026An important new @brennancenter.org resource from my colleague @josephanunn.bsky.social. 0145
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 12/06/2026Section 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 33217
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Senator 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 27932
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Sharing 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.comBeyond Pulte, Congress cannot renew spy law without reformsPulte or no Pulte, renewal of Section 702 will be an uphill battle unless Republican leaders allow votes on genuine reform. 32519
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/06/2026At 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 49847
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/06/2026Members 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 411140
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 03/06/2026The 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 23920
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 18/05/2026On 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 16833
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 26/04/2026In 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.orgFool’s Gold: Speaker Johnson’s Section 702 proposal would place no limits on backdoor searchesA critique of the Speaker's most recent legislative proposal to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). 03619
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 23/04/2026After 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 24321
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 23/04/2026Speaker 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. 1408
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 20/04/2026Two 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.comOpinion | We Disagree on a Lot. But We Know This Law Must Change. 2275
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 17/04/2026In 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 720894
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 10/04/2026The @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 15828
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 06/04/2026Helpful thread pointing out errors in Glenn Gerstell's Lawfare piece about Section 702. I'll add another one... 1/3 bsky.app/profile/jake... 1124
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 02/04/2026A 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 12612
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Opponents 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.orgThe Truth Behind Section 702 Query StatisticsAuthors write that Congress must now impose a warrant requirement for Section 702 access to Americans' communications. 13819
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 11/03/2026Take 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. 03611
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 20/02/2026By 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 36417
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 12/02/2026Yesterday 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 10459159
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 03/02/2026My 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. 05318
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 25/01/2026After 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 416970
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 16/01/2026President 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 30983328
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 09/01/2026SCOTUS’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.orgTrump v. Illinois: A Narrow Supreme Court Decision with Broad ImplicationsThe implications of Supreme Court decision, 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑣. 𝐼𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠, for deploying federal military forces to American cities. 27126
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 06/01/2026The 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 311143
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 20/11/2025Important 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.orgConfronting the Protective PowerThe president’s theory of constitutional authority to deploy active-duty troops is more dangerous than the government’s briefing suggests. 13517
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/11/2025The 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 616041
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 27/10/2025My 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.orgAppeals Courts Split on Domestic Military DeploymentsThe Supreme Court must now recognize how excessive judicial deference to the president can endanger Americans’ fundamental liberties. 413650
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 21/10/2025By 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 13633671181
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 14/10/2025President 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/3434ss8etinyurl.comThe Dangers and Limits of Government by Emergency Rule - Georgetown Law - Center on National SecurityBy Elizabeth Goitein 35531
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025President 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 712329
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 05/10/2025This 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 616786
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 30/09/2025This 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 68845
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 29/09/2025Before 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 26737
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 27/09/2025According 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 511739
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 12/09/2025Facing 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 56221
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 02/09/2025A 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. 06718
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 24/08/2025The 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.comPentagon plans military deployment in Chicago as Trump eyes crackdownPresident Donald Trump said Chicago is his next likely target to crack down on urban crime. Military planning has been ongoing for weeks, officials say. 20220128
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 19/08/2025At 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 14405136
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 25/06/2025My 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. 510150
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 20/06/2025A 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 1012569
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 14/06/2025The 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.comExclusive: US Marines carry out first known detention of civilian in Los Angeles, video showsMarines 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. 33681336