He continued: "The reason why journalism is important, why it is protected in the Constitution, is to be one of the institutional checks on abuse of power, and for that you have to keep those in power at arm's length, hold them accountable".
In a democratic society, public scrutiny of government is an important check on abuses of power and a necessary prelude to meaningful reform.
"It has always been the judicial branch's role" to serve as a check on abuses, he began, but the President had asked them "to abdicate that role here, to reinstate the executive order without meaningful judicial review, and to throw this country back into chaos".
It's created the lingering distrust that the campaign press no longer works as a check on abuses and excesses, but has become part of the formula that celebrates abuse and excess.
So what I would say is that some of the explanations have to do with weakened worker bargaining power, weaker unions, asymmetric state liberalization where capital moves but labor can't move, corporate governance laws that provide relatively little check on abuses of corporate power by CEOs, and an increase of monopoly power because of network externalities.
Edward Snowden: The Final Check on Abuse of Power Is Whistle-Blowing Edward Snowden: The Game Plan for the N.S.A. Leak.
James W. Spensley, a Colorado-based environmental lawyer with broad experience in government pointed out that the courts provided an import check on abuse, since shoddy or biased studies are vulnerable to legal challenges.
By Jelani Cobb By Joan Acocella By David Remnick By Jia Tolentino By Ben Taub Edward Snowden: The Final Check on Abuse of Power is Whistle-blowing Edward Snowden joins New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer in a virtual interview to discuss Internet-privacy violations and what he believes his legacy will ultimately be.
When the FAA was first enacted, defenders of the statute argued that a significant check on abuse would be the NSA's inability to obtain electronic communications without the consent of the telecom and internet companies that control the data.
When the law was enacted, defenders of the FAA argued that a significant check on abuse would be the NSA's inability to obtain electronic communications without the consent of the telecom and internet companies that control the data.
