Most Read/Popular Just Security Articles of 2019

Like last year, we created two lists for 2019: one for the “most read” articles that focused on the Russia and Ukraine investigations, and one for the “most read” articles that focused on other topics. The main rationale for creating two lists is to highlight news and analysis that can otherwise be crowded out by coverage of the Russia and Ukraine investigations. The statistics used to generate these lists do not include republication of Just Security articles by our media partners.

These lists also do not include four popular resource tools: (i) Public Document Clearinghouse on the Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry, (ii) Public Document Clearinghouse: Congressional Russia Investigations, (iii) Trump-Russia Timeline, and (iv) Unsealed Documents in Special Counsel Mueller’s Investigation.

We are very grateful to our authors and to our readers, and hope you enjoy seeing (and reading and rereading) these articles!

Most Read Articles of 2019 in General (excluding Ukraine and Russia investigations)

1. U.S. Offensive Cyber Operations against Economic Cyber Intrusions: An International Law Analysis – Part I: Would Economic Cyber Intrusions Against U.S. Entities Violate International Law?

by Edwin Djabatey

2. JFK Records Suit Tests CIA Secrecy on Assassination

by Jefferson Morley

3. Trump’s Encouraging QAnon May Result in Violence—Just ask the FBI 

   by Justin Hendrix

4. Exclusive: FBI’s War Crimes Unit on the Chopping Block

by Beth Van Schaack

5. Can a Pardon Be a War Crime?: When Pardons Themselves Violate the Laws of War

by Gabor Rona

6. What Congress Should Ask Bill Barr When He Testifies

by Joshua Geltzer, Ryan Goodman and Asha Rangappa

7. Terrorists and the Southern Border: Myth and Reality

by Nicholas Rasmussen

8. When Is a “Literally True” Statement False and a Crime

by Stephen Gillers

9. Marik String Appointment as State Department’s Top Lawyer Raises Questions

by John T. Nelson

10. Yes, Trump Could Be Indicted If He Leaves Office in 2021, But Is That Likely?

by Conor Shaw

11. Ruminations on RICO and Asset Forfeiture in the Trump Business Empire

by Martin J. Sheil

12. Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Does the McConnell amendment provide a justification for military operations against Iran?

by Brian Egan and Tess Bridgeman

13. Can Turkey be Expelled from NATO? It’s Legally Possible, Whether or Not Politically Prudent

by Aurel Sari

14. How Trump’s Gilding the Lily on Baghdadi Death Will Return to Haunt Americans;
    I handled State Dept’s public messaging after we killed bin Laden. I know the risks.

by Ambassador Dana Shell Smith

15. Al-Nashiri III: A No Good, Very Bad Day for U.S. Military Commissions

by Steve Vladeck

16. Understanding the Two Mazars Subpoena Cases Before the Supreme Court

by Marty Lederman

17. The Missing Khashoggi Report: A President Can’t Choose to “Decline” His Constitutional Role to Accommodate Congressional Oversight

by Edgar Chen, Alicia O’Brien and Julie Rodin Zebrak

18. How News Media Talk About Terrorism: What the Evidence Shows

by Erin M. Kearns and Amarnath Amarasingam

19. A Caution to Pentagon Officials Asked to Obligate “National Emergency” Funds

by Robert S. Taylor

20. Trump’s Plan to Have the Military Build a Wall is Illegal

by Sam Berger

21. After Publishing Strong Evidence of Trump’s Campaign Finance Crimes, DOJ Closes Case Without Explanation

by Paul Seamus Ryan

22. Unpacking (Some of) the Legal Issues Surrounding Hoda Muthana

by Steve Vladeck

23. Finding the Federal Data on Domestic Terrorism

by Kai Wiggins

24. Exclusive: Draft Charter of Pompeo’s “Commission on Unalienable Rights” Hides Anti-Human Rights Agenda

by Rebecca Hamilton

25. What’s In the New Draft National Defense Authorization Act

by Annie Himes, Julia McKay and John T. Nelson

Most Read Articles of 2019 on Ukraine and Russia Investigations

1. Here’s the Proof that Trump’s “No Quid Pro Quo” Call Never Happened

by Susan Simpson

2. Expert Summaries of Mueller Report: A Collection

by Just Security, Kate Brannen, George T. Conway III, Jennifer Daskal, Kristen Eichensehr, Joshua Geltzer, Ryan Goodman, Elie Honig, Harry Litman, Renato Mariotti, Barbara McQuade, Asha Rangappa, Mimi Rocah, Paul Seamus Ryan, Rita Siemion, Joyce Vance and Andy Wright

3. Barr’s Playbook: He Misled Congress When Omitting Parts of Justice Dep’t Memo in 1989

by Ryan Goodman

4. Timeline: Trump, Giuliani, Biden, and Ukrainegate

by Viola Gienger and Ryan Goodman

5. United States of America v. Rudolph W. Giuliani — Former U.S. Attorneys draft a “Model Indictment” based on publicly available evidence of Giuliani’s misconduct.

by Barbara McQuade and Joyce Vance

6. Trump and Giuliani’s Quest for Fake Ukraine “Dirt” on Biden: An Explainer

by Viola Gienger

7. Is Trump a Russian Agent?: Explaining Terms of Art and Examining the Facts

by John Sipher

8. The Balance Has Shifted: The Data on Impeachment Favor Moving Ahead

by Jill Wine-Banks

9. Chart: Side-by-Side Comparison of Kurt Volker’s vs Other Witnesses’ Testimony in Impeachment Inquiry

by Ryan Goodman and Just Security

10. A Side-by-Side Comparison of Barr’s vs. Mueller’s Statements about Special Counsel Report

by Ryan Goodman

11. Guide to the Mueller Report’s Findings on “Collusion”

by Ryan Goodman

12. Federal Criminal Offenses and the Impeachment of Donald J. Trump

by Andrew Weissmann, Sam Berger, Randall Eliason, Barbara McQuade, Paul Seamus Ryan, Susan Simpson, Gary Stein and Michael Stern

13. Who is Richard Burr, Really? Why the public can’t trust his voice in the Russia probe

by Ryan Goodman

14. Seven Outright Falsehoods in GOP Staff Report on Impeachment

by Susan Simpson

15. Overwhelming Confirmation of Whistleblower Complaint: An Annotation

by Ryan Goodman and John T. Nelson

16. White House Letter Distorts Both Law and History on Impeachment

by Frank O. Bowman, III

17. The “Quid” is a Crime: No Need to Prove “Pro Quo” in Ukrainegate

by Paul Seamus Ryan

18. Clear Goal of Barr/Durham Probe is to Scare Off Intelligence Community

by Alex Finley

19. Trump’s Hold on Ukrainian Military Aid was Illegal

by Sam Berger

20. What Has Bill Barr Done to Earn the Benefit of the Doubt?

by Luppe Luppen

21. The Missing Piece of the Mueller Investigation: Gaming out the counterintelligence part of Mueller’s probe

by Joshua Geltzer and Ryan Goodman

22. Timeline: Rep. Devin Nunes and Ukraine Disinformation Efforts

by Ryan Goodman and Viola Gienger

23. Perjury Chart: Trump Associates’ Lies, False, or Misleading Statements on Russia to Federal Authorities

by Ryan Goodman

24. Can Congress Subpoena Trump to Testify?

by Andy Wright

25. Q&A on Whistleblower Complaint Being Withheld from Congressional Intelligence Committees

by Kel McClanahan