• Our Democracy and Security is On The Line

The 400+ members of the Steady State are former national security and intelligence officials who remain committed to their oaths to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” They continue to promote democracy, rule of law, and national security based on the values shared by most Americans.

Just Released: Accelerating Authoritarian Dynamics: Assessment of Democratic Decline – A Periodic Update

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🎧 Inside the Situation Room: Larry Pfeiffer on the Politicization of Intelligence, Professional Integrity, and the Cost of Truth

Former senior CIA operations officer Jim Lawler sits down with Larry Pfeiffer, former senior director of the White House Situation Room and chief of staff to CIA Director Michael Hayden, who describes the rigors of working in the Situation Room, crisis decision-making, and what it takes to deliver accurate information when seconds matter.

He describes advising Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, helping portray the White House Situation Room with realism and showing audiences what crisis decision-making feels like on “a pretty bad day.” Other discussions center on the dangers of politicizing intelligence, the professional duty to speak truth to power, and the institutional costs of loyalty tests and political pressure.

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