The DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel said the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional, contradicting decades of Supreme Court precedent.
Why they got it wrong, from former OLC Assistant Attorney General Chris Fonzone:
Great profile, Sam!
Congress must convene immediately to condemn Trump’s horrific threats against tens of millions of people and stop this unconstitutional war.
We must prevent Trump from unleashing the catastrophic and illegal violence he is touting.
Is this some panacea? Of course not. But those who have power--even soft, indirect, or uncertain power, including the power to get noticed--have a responsibility to exercise it now. Dooming that it "won't work" is not constructive.
What humanity could have been focused on today...
Where is the global outrage and condemnation as Trump threatens war crimes on a massive scale?
Not just Iran, but the entire Int’l legal system is in peril. World leaders must take a stand.
If Trump bombs power plants in Iran, the humanitarian crisis will be horrific. Experts tell me to expect water shortages, closed hospitals, many deaths.
“We’ve never had a US president so proudly promise to commit war crimes," Sen Chris Murphy says. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2087...
The U.S. RUDs to the Genocide Convention state its understanding that “intent to destroy” requires “specific intent” and that acts committed within armed conflict w/out specific intent to destroy would not qualify as genocide. An intentionally high bar that the US President states intent on meeting.
At times the law on the use of force and the moral force of humanitarianism seem to diverge. People can debate whether any use of force can actually make life better, or how to narrowly tailor it to achieve that goal. But nothing about this war has been tailored to help the Iranian people.
Law aside, I think many — states, lay people, even IR experts — had trouble at first denouncing US aggression in (and on) Iran because the Iranian regime was so monstrous to its own people. But there should never have been any illusion — Trump did not launch this war to help the Iranian people.
📣 Register now 📣
Facts, Pretexts, and Judicial Scrutiny of Executive Power
@nyulaw.bsky.social Forum w/ @becingber.bsky.social, Judge Tom Griffith, Christopher Fonzone & @rgoodlaw.bsky.social
4/1, 1:10-2:25pm, virtual
Co-hosted by @rcls-nyu.bsky.social
CLE credit available
RSVP: bit.ly/4rNL0VW
I'm very much looking forward to hosting this discussion on Wednesday, April 1
Panelists:
Judge Tom Griffith
Professor @becingber, former DOS
Chris Fonzone, former head of OLC, Gen Counsel ODNI, Legal Adviser NSC
Virtual and in-person
1:10-2:25pm ET
RSVP:
www.lawandsecurity.org/calendar/fac...
Less appearance of authoritarian leaning
nobody wants him on that wall
So many law review articles and he just tweeted it out
Agree but also, bad pizza is very much a real (and very sad) thing.
Who is going to be able to accept this award next year — they’ll have to dedicate it to him. And even then …
What did I just watch
3/ You can bet we'll add this to 5th edition of Presumption of Regularity study.
Which tracks 90+ cases in which either court determined the Trump administration submitted false information or the administration admitted it.
This one of the most significant.
www.justsecurity.org/120547/presu...
I still hold that the most extraordinary thing Elon Musk has ever done was manage to send an email to everyone in the entire executive branch. If only he could have been satisfied with Head of IT! Real opportunity there to change lives.
“This Administration is barely paying lip service to the constitutional or international law governing the use of force. But we have these rules for a reason,” @becingber.bsky.social told @theintercept.com. “Rushing to war on one man’s whims is the exact opposite of what the Constitution demands.”
“Operation Total Extermination”
NEW: Pentagon Reveals Attacks in Latin America Are Just the Beginning
With “Operation Total Extermination” and Trump’s threats against Cuba, expect more U.S. military strikes in the region.
theintercept.com/2026/03/23/t...
It’s all been getting smaller. It’s a scam, probably by our children.
You’ve convinced me. Your tweet is mine now.
This
I have a use of force joke but it’s not all that exceptional
I have an international law joke but you’ll tell me it’s really just about power
