Liberty & National Security
The Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security (LNS) Program fights to preserve constitutional values in the post-9/11 world and to set meaningful limits on the exercise of executive power. Our work centers on innovative policy recommendations, litigation, and public advocacy to ensure that our nation’s commitment to national security comports with the rule of law and our fundamental freedoms.
The Center’s LNS Program focuses on government transparency and accountability; domestic counterterrorism policies and their effects on privacy and First Amendment freedoms; detainee policy, including the detention, interrogation, and trial of terrorist suspects; and the need to safeguard our system of checks and balances.
Our current work focuses primarily on two campaigns:
Restoring the Proper Flow of Information Between the Government and the People. In a free democracy, information about governmental actions should be available to the people, while personal information about law-abiding Americans and U.S. residents should be off-limits to the government. Increasingly, this principle is being stood on its head, as the government keeps more information secret while becoming less respectful of our privacy. The LNS Program is working to restore the proper balance in this area by securing both increased public access to government information and sensible limits on the government’s ability to access information about individuals.
Ensuring that Domestic Counterterrorism Policies Effectively Target the Terrorist Threat. Many recent domestic counterterrorism policies are too broad in scope, allowing the government to focus law enforcement resources and scrutiny on people whose connection to terrorism is tenuous or even non-existent. The failure to properly target counterterrorism efforts not only intrudes on individual liberties – it opens the door to ethnic and religious profiling, and makes us less safe by diverting manpower and resources from more productive paths. The LNS Program is working to narrow or redirect existing domestic counterterrorism policies so that they properly target the threat we face.
The Brennan Center filed an amicus brief arguing that the prolonged, warrantless use of GPS tracking devices to monitor a suspect's behavior is unconstitutional.
Al Falah Center v. Township of Bridgewater
The Al Falah Center brought suit against the Township of Bridgewater, N.J. to compel the township to allow Al Falah to move forward with plans to renovate an existing building for use as a mosque and Islamic community center.
Amnesty Int’l v. Clapper (Amicus Brief)
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that plaintiff's have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act. In December of 2008 and 2009, the Brennan Center for Justice filed supplemental amici in the case, urging the court to overturn the law.
Iguanas and the Rule of Law at Guantánamo
It appears iguanas have more rights than detainees at Guantanamo Bay. I traveled to the prison recently to observe the hearing of accused U.S.S. Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.
To Be or Not To Be Accountable
The Ninth Circuit splits the baby in two warrantless wiretapping cases.
The NYPD: Making the FBI Look Good
The Jose Pimentel case, and the FBI's lack of involvement, underscores the need for oversight of the NYPD's intelligence activities.
Illustrations by Risko
Brennan Center Statement in Advance of AG Holder Appearance Before Senate Judiciary Committee
The Brennan Center released the following statement calling on Senate Judiciary Committee members to press Attorney General Eric Holder on changes to the FBI's domestic surveillance rules.
City Council Members, Civil Rights Advocates Press Conference Puts Spotlight on NYPD Operations
New York City Council Members, the Brennan Center for Justice, community groups and civil rights advocates gathered at City Hall today to raise concerns about the New York Police Department’s infiltration of the local 800,000-person Muslim community and to call for more oversight of the NYPD’s intelligence operations.
New Proposal to Curb Government Secrecy
A new study concludes that unnecessary classification is detrimental to national security efforts and democratic decision making – and offers a proposal to curb abuse and needless secrecy.
Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee on FBI Guidelines
The Brennan Center for Justice and other civil rights groups sent a letter urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to request that the FBI postpone implementation of changes to its domestic investigations guidelines.
Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee on New FBI Rules
In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, civil rights advocates called on Congress to investigate the reported changes to the FBI’s guidelines for domestic investigations.
Remarks by John Brennan at Brennan Center Symposium
John O. Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, gave the keynote address at the Brennan Center's symposium Intelligence Collection and Law Enforcement: New Roles, New Challenges.
The Police Department has the formidable responsibility of keeping New Yorkers safe from a terrorist attack. It is entrusted with significant powers and broad discretion in how to use them. It has done an admirable job in preventing violence. But last week, we were reminded that no government entity with such powers should operate free from independent oversight.
The GOP candidates in New Hampshire seem to have forgotten the state's motto.
President Obama: It’s Not Too Late to Reject Bad Detainee Law
Congress enacted legislation intended to militarize the handling of terrorist suspects and limit the president’s options for prosecuting or releasing them. The bill represents a major setback for both human rights and national security, and President Obama should veto it.