“…a government of laws and not men.” John Adams The federal judiciary has become a key target of presidential anger precisely because it remains one of the few institutions still capable of constraining executive misconduct. There has never been a US chief executive who hates judges and the law the way this one does. Because […]

William Pulte’s temporary appointment as Acting DNI will have effects that outlast his tenure: retribution, politicized intelligence access, personnel purges, and reduced confidence in the legal certifications that support key intelligence surveillance operations. You can destroy a lot of stuff in 210 days. You can also ensure long-lasting damage to the entire Intelligence Community if […]

The controversy over Trump’s anti-weaponization fund is not an isolated case. It is part of a broader pattern in which money connected to presidential power is being raised, controlled, and spent through structures that operate outside traditional mechanisms of public oversight. Trump’s $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund has drawn outrage for good reason. Acting Attorney General […]

A new book, Common Sense: Take 2, A Call to Renew Democracy, contends that the United States is confronting not simply a political crisis but a deeper crisis of democratic capacity. Written by Russ Travers, a career public servant across multiple administrations who retired as Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, focuses on the […]

In this episode of The Steady State Sentinel, John Sipher speaks with veteran intelligence and counterterrorism official Russ Travers about the state of American democracy, the national security system, and his forthcoming book, Common Sense Take 2. Travers reflects on his 45-year career across the intelligence community, from warning about systemic intelligence failures before 9/11 […]