Unchecked And Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror

Description

30 years after the Church Committee unearthed COINTELPRO and other instances of illicit executive behaviour on the domestic and international fronts, the Bush administration has elevated the flaws identified by the committee into first principles of government. Through a constellation of non-public laws and opaque, unaccountable institutions, the current administration has created a secret presidency' run by classified presidential decisions and orders about national security. Here, the authors expose this abuse of power.'

Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr. is chief counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He was chief counsel to the Church Committee. He is the author of Democracy in the Dark: The Seduction of Government Secrecy and a co-author, with Aziz Z. Huq, of Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror (both from The New Press). He lives in New York City. Aziz Z. Huq is associate counsel at the Brennan Center and previously clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court. He lives in New York City.