tweetindex
EN

Elizabeth Goitein

@LizaGoitein · joined 18 Mar 2015

Co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, erstwhile oboist, mom of seriously cute twins. Opinions are my own.

27 671Followers
186Following
4 478Posts total
18.2KViews on collected posts

Latest posts

These members worked hard to create the impression that there was a “deal” to pass their bill, and that the deal was scuttled by Pulte’s appointment as acting DNI. But there was never a “deal”—that was just wishcasting on the part of the bill’s drafters. 14/17 28 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
The choice for members was never between passing a bill with meaningless changes or letting Section 702 lapse. The choice is whether or not to allow the government to continue helping itself to Americans’ emails, text messages, and phone calls without a warrant. 16/17 189 views · 5 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Democrats might be sufficiently worried about Clayton that they refuse to pass any version of Sec. 702. But if Sec. 702 renewal does move forward, members can—and must—guard against abuse by rejecting Cotton/Grassley/Warner and supporting a bill with a warrant requirement. 17/17 185 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Indeed, far from reaching a deal with the large and bipartisan block of members who support adding a warrant requirement, Cotton, Grassley, and Warner shut them out of the drafting process entirely—while inviting Trump administration officials in. 15/17 39 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Congress should have done this years ago. Under this administration, it’s a no-brainer, and it should be a prerequisite for any discussion over reauthorizing Section 702. Several members—both Democrats and Republicans—have offered bills including this reform. 12/17 33 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
By contrast, three senators who have long opposed Sec. 702 reform (Cotton, Grassley & Warner) drafted a bill that purports to include reforms but largely rubber stamps the status quo, including warrantless access to Americans’ private communications. 13/17 https://t.co/2Ah2aWrOe1 32 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
If Congress reauthorizes Section 702, it must restore the check against executive abuse that the Framers enshrined in the Fourth Amendment: a requirement that the government obtain a warrant before accessing Americans’ private communications and other sensitive information. 11/17 36 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
There is already a long record of abuse of Section 702 under previous administrations. Imagine the abuses that will happen—and could be happening right now—under an administration committed to going after the president’s perceived political enemies and the ideological left. 10/17 36 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Moreover, Clayton isn’t the only administration official with warrantless access to Americans’ communications under Section 702. There’s also Todd Blanche and Kash Patel, who have not hesitated to weaponize the Department of Justice and FBI to serve Trump’s revenge agenda. 9/17 55 views · 6 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
But even if Clayton’s record were spotless, Congress must assume that *any* administration official will either bend the knee or be fired—as we’ve now seen multiple times. If Clayton ever stood up to Trump, he’d be removed in a heartbeat, and we’d have another Pulte. 8/17 60 views · 5 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Section 702 lapsed in June after Democrats refused to vote for any Section 702 reauthorization (with or without reforms) while Pulte served as acting DNI. Given Pulte’s record, members feared that he would succumb to pressure from Trump to politicize intelligence. 5/17 53 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Some Democrats were probably using Section 702 as leverage, but many feared how Pulte might abuse the warrantless access to Americans’ communications that Section 702 provides (the DNI oversees the National Counterterrorism Center, which receives Section 702-acquired data). 6/17 51 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Clayton’s confirmation should not change that calculus. His confirmation hearing performance was dismal. His refusal to state that Biden won the 2020 election proves that he’s willing to rewrite facts to serve Trump’s political agenda. That was exactly the fear about Pulte. 7/17 68 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
This pattern of abuse has led members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to call for reforms, including a requirement that the government get a warrant before accessing Americans’ communications that are “incidentally” collected under Section 702. 4/17 55 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Reminder: Section 702 authorizes warrantless surveillance of foreigners overseas, but it sweeps in huge volumes of Americans’ communications. Multiple agencies exploit this “incidental” collection to access Americans’ phone calls, text messages, and emails without a warrant. 2/17 147 views · 5 likes · 3 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
In recent years there have been persistent and widespread abuses, including FBI attempts to access the communications of members of Congress, journalists, political campaign donors, and protesters across the ideological spectrum. 3/17 https://t.co/FU3nC9at2t 98 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Jay Clayton has been confirmed as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). What’s next for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act? 1/17 1.6K views · 13 likes · 9 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Today, two dozen national and local organizations wrote to Governor Green and asked him to recall the Hawai’i National Guard forces that he sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s request. 1/10 https://t.co/bsz308bvUe 1.4K views · 6 likes · 2 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
@LizaGoitein @BillKristol Marxist tool 14 views · 0 likes · 0 reposts · 0 replies Open on X →
Trump has not earned the trust that Gov. Whitmer is placing in him by providing Michigan’s National Guard forces for his use. Gov. Whitmer should bring these Guard forces home now—before, not after, the next misuse occurs. 11/11 211 views · 5 likes · 0 reposts · 0 replies Open on X →
Requests for out-of-state Guard assistance with major DC events may not raise concerns in normal times. These are not normal times. Trump’s misuse of National Guard forces throughout the past year has been pervasive and unprecedented, and is ongoing in DC. 10/11 218 views · 2 likes · 0 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
More than a week later, the JTF website continues to list Michigan as one of the states supporting law-enforcement efforts “aimed at restoring order” in DC, and Michigan Guard forces continue to be seen in DC neighborhoods. Yet Gov. Whitmer has not ended the deployment. 7/11 68 views · 2 likes · 0 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Even if Michigan Guard forces were being used only for 250 events, there is ample potential for misuse in that context. What if there are protests at the events, or if event attendees dip a hand in the reflecting pool? What will Guard forces’ marching orders be? 9/11 64 views · 2 likes · 0 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Indeed, MI Guard forces are slated to be in DC until the end of August—long after the crowd-drawing July 4 events (other 250 events will likely be much smaller). By contrast, Govs. Walz, Moore, Beshear, & Stein have withdrawn their Guard forces or plan to do so this week. 8/11 68 views · 3 likes · 0 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
As these governors had previously acknowledged, absent an emergency that overwhelms civilian authorities, using the military as a domestic police force threatens civil liberties, undermines democracy, and poses risks to public safety. 3/11 196 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
On June 29, Gov. Whitmer warned that she would end the deployment of Michigan Guard forces if there was a continued blurring of these lines. As an example, she noted that the JTF website listed Michigan as contributing to its law-enforcement mission. 6/11 https://t.co/SSf6v8iVhc 84 views · 2 likes · 0 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
But as the letter points out, there is no way to ensure that the Trump administration will honor that distinction. In fact, Michigan Guard forces have been placed under the crime-control joint task force (JTF) and have been recorded in neighborhoods far from any 250 event. 5/11 93 views · 2 likes · 0 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
The ostensible purpose of the recent deployments was to assist with crowd control and similar functions during the events to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (“250 events”)—not to join the “summer surge” of Guard forces policing the city. 4/11 91 views · 3 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Gov. Whitmer was among several governors, including Govs. Walz (MN), Moore (MD), Beshear (KY), and Stein (NC), who had condemned the deployment of out-of-state Guard forces into DC last August but who granted Trump’s request to send troops in recent weeks. 2/11 299 views · 4 likes · 1 reposts · 1 replies Open on X →
Today, more than two dozen national and local organizations wrote to Governor Whitmer and asked her to recall the Michigan National Guard forces that she sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s request. 1/11 https://t.co/fijpgaT9Ua 11K views · 52 likes · 26 reposts · 3 replies Open on X →

Against accounts of the same size

31 posts from the last 90 days, next to the 10K–100K follower range. reaches fewer people than peers, but engages them much harder.

Median views68this account1 098median for 10K–100K
Reach, %0.25%this account3.91%median for 10K–100K
Engagement, %5.50%this account1.66%median for 10K–100K
MetricThis accountMedian for 10K–100KRatio
Median views per post681 0980.06×
Reach (views ÷ followers)0.25%3.91%0.06×
Engagement rate5.50%1.66%3.31×

Others in this range →   Compare with another account →   How these benchmarks are built →

Growth & engagement

How the posts we collected actually performed: views and reaction rate post by post, what the audience did with them, and where the follower count goes.

Views per post

555 Aug
68
51
53
60
55
36
36
32
33
39
185
189
28

Last 14 collected posts, oldest on the left. The scale is logarithmic: one post can outrun the rest a hundred times over.

Engagement rate per post

10.91%5 Aug
8.82%
11.76%
11.32%
11.67%
14.55%
16.67%
16.67%
18.75%
18.18%
15.38%
3.24%
3.70%
21.43%

Reactions — likes, reposts, replies and quotes — divided by views. Median for 10K–100K accounts is 1.66%.

What the audience does

Likes64.3%169 in total
Reposts22.1%58 in total
Replies11.4%30 in total
Bookmarks2.3%6 in total

Share of every reaction we collected for this account. Replies mean argument, reposts mean endorsement, bookmarks mean the post was worth keeping.

The follower curve appears once this account has two daily snapshots — we take one a day, and this one is on its first.

Similar accounts