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Full-Text Articles in Law
Congress’S Right To Counsel In Intelligence Oversight, Kathleen Clark
Congress’S Right To Counsel In Intelligence Oversight, Kathleen Clark
Kathleen Clark
This article examines Congress’s ability to consult its lawyers and other expert staff in conducting oversight. For decades, congressional leaders have acquiesced in the executive branch’s insistence that certain intelligence information not be shared with congressional staffers, even those staffers who have high-level security clearances. As a result, Congress has been hobbled in its ability to understand and analyze key executive branch programs. This policy became particularly controversial connection with the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice-Chair Jay Rockefeller noted the “profound oversight issues” implicated by the surveillance program and lamented the fact that he felt constrained …
Congress’S Right To Counsel In Intelligence Oversight, Kathleen Clark
Congress’S Right To Counsel In Intelligence Oversight, Kathleen Clark
Kathleen Clark
This article examines Congress’s ability to consult its lawyers and other expert staff in conducting oversight. For decades, congressional leaders have acquiesced in the executive branch’s insistence that certain intelligence information not be shared with congressional staffers, even those staffers who have high-level security clearances. As a result, Congress has been hobbled in its ability to understand and analyze key executive branch programs. This policy became particularly controversial connection with the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice-Chair Jay Rockefeller noted the “profound oversight issues” implicated by the surveillance program and lamented the fact that he felt constrained …
The Architecture Of Accountability: A Case Study Of The Warrantless Surveillance Program, Kathleen Clark
The Architecture Of Accountability: A Case Study Of The Warrantless Surveillance Program, Kathleen Clark
Kathleen Clark
Several Democratic members of Congress and human rights organizations are calling for establishing a “truth commission” to investigate the Bush Administration’s interrogation and warrantless surveillance policies. Others advocate criminal investigation and even prosecution of Bush Administration officials who authorized these policies. Republican legislators and some commentators oppose any commission or criminal investigation of Bush Administration policies, arguing that they would constitute an attempt by those currently in power to criminalize their policy differences with their predecessors. Is it necessary or appropriate to hold Bush Administration officials accountable for their actions through a criminal or commission investigation? This article contributes to …
Government Lawyers And Confidentiality Norms, Kathleen Clark
Government Lawyers And Confidentiality Norms, Kathleen Clark
Kathleen Clark
This article addresses the confidentiality obligations of government lawyers, and how those obligations differ from private sector lawyers. It examines the rather complex question of the identity of a government lawyer’s client, notes that many government lawyers make decisions that are normally reserved for clients, and finds that those lawyers can appropriately consider the public interest in making those decisions. On the specific issue of confidentiality, the article asserts that, as a substantive matter, government lawyers may disclose government wrongdoing and may reveal information that is subject to disclosure under freedom of information laws. But as a procedural matter, state …