National Security and Foreign Affairs

On Thursday afternoon, Attorney General Jeff Sessions held a press conference to announce that he was recusing himself from any possible investigations into connections between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia. It was a dissembling performance that demonstrated why his recusal is not enough.

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday generally agreed that a controversial surveillance measure was both necessary for renewal and in need of some reform.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702 allows the NSA to monitor the communications of foreign citizens outside of the United States.

While the intelligence community touts it as a vital component of its surveillance apparatus, critics note that United States citizens communicating with foreigners can also have data captured.

President Donald Trump, facing questions about a controversial military operation, made the first U.S. combat death on his watch a moment of riveting drama during his Tuesday address to Congress.

In a scene of powerful emotion that brought the audience in the House chamber to its feet, Trump introduced and applauded Carryn Owens, the widow of Ryan Owens, a Navy SEAL killed during a late January raid in Yemen that went badly wrong.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Sunday blasted President Trump for his Twitter attacks of news outlets, saying if the president spent more time focused on his intelligence briefings, Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens might still be alive.

Owens was killed last month during a raid on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). U.S. Central Command said it killed 14 AQAP operatives, but reports following the raid also said up to 30 civilians may have been killed as a result of the mission.

Two months after then President-elect President Donald Trump infamously told MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough "let it be an arms race," Trump is again dangling the prospect of a heated nuclear arms competition with Russia in front of the world.