Unchecked And Unbalanced

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.'