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Maxwell School News and Commentary

Filtered by: U.S. National Security

Banks quoted in Vox article on military deployment at US-Mexico border

While military deployment to the border by President Trump is "clearly legal," Professor of Practice William Banks questions "whether the wall construction itself is lawful."

June 26, 2020

Banks explains role of National Guard in PBS NewsHour article

The National Guard is trained to help domestically in a variety of capacities. "That said, they are members of the military, not law enforcement, so they are largely trained to supplement military jobs," says Professor Emeritus William Banks.

June 10, 2020

Banks discusses the Insurrection Act with Christian Science Monitor, Military.com

"You want to come to the aid of the states when states can’t take care of themselves," says Professor Emeritus William C. Banks, about President Trump's threat to invoke the Insurrection Act.

June 4, 2020

O'Keefe discusses USS Theodore Roosevelt COVID incident in NY Times, Washington Post

"At its core, this is about an aircraft carrier skipper who sees an imminent threat and is forced to make a decision that risks his career in the act of what he believes to be the safety of the near 5,000 members of his crew," says University Professor Sean O’Keefe.

April 9, 2020

Banks cautions against use of military during pandemic in Daily News

Most of the time...America’s military forces have remained in the background, waiting for direction from civilian leaders to respond to crises and then only in limited ways," says William C. Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs. "That’s by design. We train soldiers to fight and win wars and deter threats overseas."

April 6, 2020

Banks explains the Insurrection Act in HowStuffWorks article

"The Insurrection Act may be invoked only following an invasion, insurrection or widespread domestic violence," says William C. Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs. "Only if states attempt to leave the Union would state defiance enable Insurrection Act authority. Otherwise the states control their citizens' health, welfare and safety."

April 1, 2020

Banks writes about martial law and the pandemic in The Atlantic

"If martial law were invoked, the government would be conducted ad hoc by the president or a military commander based entirely on his or her opinion of what was needed to meet the emergency, unbound by any laws and with no transparency or public participation, and probably no accountability afterward," writes William C. Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs. 

March 27, 2020

Banks discusses FISA reforms with Sinclair Broadcast Group

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks says the changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act process in the bill would increase accountability for abuses of the system and require the FBI to disclose more information to the court.

March 16, 2020

Lovely speaks to Washington Times about FBI, Chinese-American scientists

Professor of Economics Mary Lovely says the rules governing scientists’ ties to Chinese research institutions are murky and sometimes lead prosecutors to charge people who have made innocent mistakes. "People can stumble into things inadvertently. The rules have to be very clear and if someone violates those clear rules, then you throw the book at them," she says.

February 25, 2020

Banks comments on FISA reform in USA Today

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks said congressional action regarding FISA could further insert politics into a process that should be free of it. "All the politics that surrounded the headlines of this story would rear their ugly head again," he says. "It could end up with more amendments to FISA that do more harm than good."

December 17, 2019

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