John Eastman
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- Milken Institute1h 20m
Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of Democracy
In a Milken Institute panel, ACLU President Susan Herman and Chapman Law School's John Eastman debated the post-9/11 expansion of state surveillance powers under the USA Patriot Act and the shifting legal frameworks of the Fourth Amendment. While Eastman defended expanded tools like roving wiretaps and enhanced interrogations as essential wartime necessities that successfully led to Osama bin Laden's death, Herman countered that these measures constitute ineffective "security theater" and have eroded civil liberties without proportional security benefits. The discussion ultimately highlighted deep partisan divides regarding the balance between national security and constitutional due process, particularly concerning the targeted killing of citizens and the indefinite detention of alleged combatants.