News & Commentary written by Jameel Jaffer

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Jameel Jaffer

Director, Knight First Amendment Institute

Bio

Jameel Jaffer () is a former deputy legal director of the ÌÒ×ÓÊÓÆµand former director of its Center for Democracy, which houses the organization's work on human rights, national security, free speech, privacy, and technology. He has litigated many cases relating to government surveillance, including challenges to the Patriot Act's national security letter provision, the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program, and the National Security Agency's call-tracking program. He has also litigated cases relating to targeted killing and torture, including a landmark case under the Freedom of Information Act that resulted in the release of the Bush administration's torture memos and hundreds of other documents relating to the Bush administration's torture program. He is currently working on a book about individual privacy and official secrecy, a project he began as an Open Society Fellow in 2013. Before joining the staff of the ACLU, he clerked for Judge Amalya L. Kearse of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, and Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada. He is a graduate of Williams College, Cambridge University, and Harvard Law School.


Featured work

Jun 1, 2021

A New Consensus Around Transparency and National Security Surveillance

A New Consensus Around Transparency and National Security Surveillance

Apr 15, 2019

The Assange Indictment and Press Freedoms

The Assange Indictment and Press Freedoms

Jun 29, 2016

A Less-Secret Drone Campaign

A Less-Secret Drone Campaign

Apr 4, 2016

How Constitutional Change Happens: Q&A With David Cole

How Constitutional Change Happens: Q&A With David Cole

Mar 8, 2016

The Next President’s Drone War

The Next President’s Drone War

Nov 30, 2015

A Decade-Old Gag Order, Lifted

A Decade-Old Gag Order, Lifted

Oct 19, 2015

Drone Disclosures, Official and Not

Drone Disclosures, Official and Not

Sep 24, 2015

Artist Trevor Paglen Talks to Jameel Jaffer About the Aesthetics of NSA Surveillance

Artist Trevor Paglen Talks to Jameel Jaffer About the Aesthetics of NSA Surveillance

Jun 20, 2015

The CIA Can’t Keep Its Drone Propaganda Straight

The CIA Can’t Keep Its Drone Propaganda Straight

May 24, 2015

Scaremongering about the Patriot Act Sunset

Scaremongering about the Patriot Act Sunset