Covert Action, Clandestine, and Special Operations Law

This course will introduce students to the domestic and international authorities, laws, and policies applicable to the use of covert action authorities abroad and the use of clandestine and military special operations forces.  The course will cover the core separation of powers related issues regarding oversight of such activities by Congress, including specifically in the areas of counterterrorism operations and cyber activities.  The course will review both the historical legal constraints and policies applicable to such activities as well as ongoing debates over the appropriate nature and scope of such activities and the relevant reporting and disclosure of such activities.  The course will teach the law in this area in part by examining declassified examples of such activities and focusing on the laws applied in such cases, the oversight conducted both before and after the activities, as well as the potential applicability of other laws and policies.