Brown University
Senior fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies; former Director of Privacy and Civil Liberties for Obama's National Security staff and First Deputy for Civil Liberties for the Director of National Intelligence under George W. Bush; former National Security Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union
Secrecy versus the right to privacy in a dangerous world While Edward Snowden's in exile in Moscow, debate is raging: should President Obama grant him a pardon? Human rights groups, bolstered by Oliver Stone's latest movie , say Snowden performed public service by revealing the excesses of government spying. But others insist that, by breaking the law, Snowden has made it harder for law enforcement to prevent acts of terrorist violence. Meantime, bombs in New York and New Jersey and stabbings in Minnesota are raising all-too-familiar questions about national security. Incidents like these have a direct impact on public opinion about "striking a balance." Is there too much surveillance by government agencies -- or not enough?
Cracking the Code on Terror Since the Charlie Hebdo murders 10 months ago, France has been on high alert against possible terror. Authorities knew that attacks on Paris were being planned, but could not prevent the killing of 129 people, the wounding of many more — and the growing uncertainty about what to expect in the future. Was there too little information about thousands of possible suspects, or were investigators overwhelmed by too much data? Should the US give the NSA new power to intercept private messages, or is that too high a price for a strategy that hasn't been proven to work? And what about YouTube, Facebook and other public media used for terrorist propaganda and recruitment? Is it time to crack down on Silicon Valley?
Down to the Wire on the Patriot Act The Senate meets this week in rare recess negotiations about whether to extend controversial provisions of the Patriot Act, including the NSA's bulk phone records collection program. That program, launched after 9/11, is due to expire June 1 if the Senate doesn't come to a consensus on how much and what kind of surveillance best serves the nation. Earlier this month the House voted overwhelmingly in favor of legislation which would reauthorize the Patriot Act while at the same time ending the NSA's bulk collection of phone records. The House also approved certain reforms intended to make the agency's programs more transparent. Will Congress go the way of a recent federal court ruling that called NSA surveillance overly broad and in violation of American's rights to privacy? If the NSA's broad surveillance programs lapse, will the nation be less secure?
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.