Elizabeth (Liza) Goitein is an attorney and public policy professional who currently directs the Liberty and National Security Policy portfolio at the Brennan Center for Justice, a left-of-center advocacy group and public interest legal center located at New York University. Much of Goitein’s professional work centers around the analysis of presidential emergency powers, government surveillance, and government secrecy. She attended Yale Law School and previously was a staffer to former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and an attorney in the Civil Division in the U.S. Department of Justice. She also currently sits on the National Task Force on Election Crises alongside many other left-of-center election policy advocates. ^{1 2}

Background

Liza Goitein attended Yale Law School and subsequently served as a law clerk to Judge Michael Daly Hawkins, an appointee of President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She then worked as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. ³

After leaving the Department of Justice, Goitein worked in the U.S. Senate as a counsel to then-U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and assisted Feingold’s work as the then-chair of the Constitution Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. ⁴

Brennan Center for Justice

As of May 2022, Liza Goitein works as the co-director of the liberty and national security program at the Brennan Center for Justice. Since joining the Brennan Center, her work has focused on emergency presidential powers, government surveillance, and government secrecy. She coauthored Brennan center reports titled Overseas Surveillance in an Interconnected World, What Went Wrong with the FISA Court, and Reducing Overclassification Through Accountability and has written chapters in Brennan Center books regarding over-classification of government information and national security surveillance. She is also an advisor to the Tech, Law, and Security Program at the American University Washington College of Law. ⁵

Policy Stances

Liza Goitein has been a longtime critic of presidential emergency powers and was particularly critical of former President Donald Trump’s use of the National Emergencies Act during his time in office. She criticized Trump’s use of the act to securing funding for a southern border wall and his consideration of using emergency powers following the 2020 election. ⁶ She has continually argued for legislation creating a congressional check on presidential emergency powers. ⁷

Goitein is also highly critical of laws passed following the September 11 terrorist attacks that have given the government broader surveillance powers over U.S. citizens and particularly alleged that the Trump administration was a threat to privacy. She wrote that “There is every reason to fear that Trump and his administration will target people for surveillance based on religion, political activism, and personal vendettas.” ⁸

National Task Force on Election Crises

Liza Goitein sits on the National Task Force on Election Crises, an organization that promotes left-of-center election administration policies and is also comprised of representatives from left-of-center groups including the Democracy Fund, Common Cause, and the Center for Tech and Civic Life. ^{9 10}

1. “Members.” National Task Force on Election Crises.” Accessed April 27, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members
2. “Elizabeth Goitein.” Brennan Center for Justice. Accessed April 27, 2022. https://www.brennancenter.org/experts/elizabeth-goitein
3. Elizabeth Goitein.” Brennan Center for Justice. Accessed April 27, 2022. https://www.brennancenter.org/experts/elizabeth-goitein
4. “Elizabeth Goitein.” Brennan Center for Justice. Accessed April 27, 2022. https://www.brennancenter.org/experts/elizabeth-goitein
5. “Liza Goitein.” American University Washington College of Law. Accessed April 27, 2022. https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/techlaw/our-team/board/liza-goitein/
6. Goitein, Elizabeth. “Reining in the President’s Emergency Powers.” Brennan Center for Justice. Accessed April 27, 2022. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/reining-presidents-emergency-powers
7. Goitein, Elizabeth. “The Courts Will Likely Let Trump Declare an ‘Emergency,’ Even If It’s Made Up.” Common Dreams. February 16, 2019. Accessed April 27, 2022. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/02/16/courts-will-likely-let-trump-declare-emergency-even-if-its-made
8. Goitein, Elizabeth. “Trump Will Have Wider Spying Powers Than Anything J. Edgar Hoover Ever Imagined.” Common Dreams. December 7, 2016. Accessed April 27, 2022.  https://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/12/07/trump-will-have-wider-spying-powers-anything-j-edgar-hoover-ever-imagined
9. “Members.” National Task Force on Election Crises.” Accessed April 27, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members
10. “About.” National Task Force on Election Crises.” Accessed April 27, 2022. https://www.electiontaskforce.org/about