This is an elegant, learned explanation of Just War Theory and the Iran war.
An important corrective arising out of the Trump administration's responses to the Catholic Church.
By the brilliant @mikeschmitt.bsky.social
www.justsecurity.org/136692/just-...
How radical is Trump-Stephen Miller anti-immigrant agenda?
"Of the roughly 200 bills targeting legal and undocumented immigrants in state legislatures this year, fewer than two dozen have made it into law so far."
As business community and Christian groups in red states resist Trump-Miller efforts
Worried about granting the Trump administration renewed and unconstrained surveillance powers?
You should be.
www.youtube.com/live/NRGdoGv...
Sunday at noon Eastern.
I'll be discussing the how surveillance powers could be used—and abused—by the Trump administration and others in future.
On @thebulwark.com with @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social
Substack: open.substack.com/live-stream/...
YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/NRGdoGv...
4/ "Patel’s alcohol use goes far beyond the occasional beer. FBI officials and others in the administration have privately questioned whether alcohol played a role...in which he shared inaccurate information about active law-enforcement investigations, including following the murder of Charlie Kirk"
3/ "Several current and former officials told me that Patel is often away or unreachable, delaying time-sensitive decisions needed to advance investigations. On several occasions, an official told me, Patel’s delays resulted in normally unflappable agents 'losing their shit.'"
2/
How long has the White House known this and let Patel keep his job?
How long has Todd Blanche known this?
Seems to have been widely known:
Sourcing: "six current and former officials and others familiar"
And Patel thought he'd be fired.
OMG
Kash Patel appears to be a drunken national security threat
"Meetings and briefings had to be rescheduled for later in the day as a result of his alcohol-fueled nights."
"A request for 'breaching equipment' ... was made last year because Patel had been unreachable behind locked doors."
2/ Gabbard's written response to Senate Intelligence Committee in confirmation process:
“Warrants should generally be required before an agency undertakes a U.S. Person query of FISA Section 702 data, except in exigent circumstances, such as imminent threats to life or national security.”
Kash Patel doesn't want FBI to have to get a warrant to access Americans' emails, texts, calls in FISA Section 702 surveillance
Director of National Intelligence Gabbard told Trump she had reservations about reauthorizing Section 702 without reforms to protect Americans’ privacy.
1/
3/3 Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General at OLC, Marty Lederman:
"Fonzone's analysis is a must-read."
bsky.app/profile/mart...
2/ Former head of Office of Legal Counsel for GW Bush, Jack Goldsmith: "Quietly devastating analysis."
www.justsecurity.org/136242/presi...
All law students should study this essay simply for gold-standard legal analysis.
The most recent head of DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel - Chris Fonzone - walks through the profound problems with the April 1, 2026 OLC opinion on the Presidential Records Act.
🧵1/
Simply put. A must-read piece on the Supreme Court's upcoming oral arguments on global human rights litigation in U.S. courts.
by the legendary Harold Hongju Koh, former State Department Legal Adviser, former Dean Yale Law School
Cisco’s Real Stakes: Digitally Aiding and Abetting Mass Atrocities
3/ "House GOP leaders delayed a procedural vote on a clean extension of Section 702 on Wednesday ... Republican leadership was expected to bring the measure to the floor on Wednesday but canceled the scheduled vote, amid dissent from privacy advocates in their own party."
2/ "House Majority Leader Steve Scalise ... said Wednesday that the GOP is having 'serious discussions' about potential changes that would address holdouts' concerns 'without undermining the ability for the program to work successfully.'"
On current status of FISA Section 702 vote.
The House is voting today on whether to reauthorize with zero reforms.
"GOP Rep. Andy Harris ... the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he expects the procedural vote to fail."
www.cbsnews.com/news/controv...
"Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that it would be 'moronic' to trust the Trump administration to uphold the law as intended and he would not vote to renew it without reforms."
www.cbsnews.com/news/controv...
9/ A key to how this all works....
New York Times:
"Trump appointees have added antifa to a list of targets laid out in the National Intelligence Priorities Framework."
Why is that important?
Read the U.S. Intelligence Community's Booklet on Section 702⤵️
An important and insightful piece by @rgoodlaw.bsky.social about how Congress can approach executive powers to spy on people here and abroad. ⤵️
8/ @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social:
"The State Department’s announcement shows that the administration is unsuccessfully laboring to portray 'Antifa' ... as a significant terrorist threat. And it could be used to undermine the civil liberties of U.S. citizens."
7/ Thomas Brzozowski, Justice Department’s former Counsel for Domestic Terrorism in the Counterterrorism Section:
“An FTO designation would also seamlessly integrate Antifa into America’s most sophisticated surveillance infrastructure.”
www.justsecurity.org/122643/antif...
6/ Reuters report on Trump administration's efforts to create "antifa" as a foreign intelligence threat (which is a key to unlocking Section 702 surveillance authorities, and then open to FBI through "back door")
Trump admin effort for a global summit:
5/ "The Trump administration is quietly working to designate antifa as a top counterterrorism priority—despite the protestations of experts who say this is a pretext for targeting domestic dissent."
@juliaioffe.bsky.social (who had the first scoop on this)
puck.news/trump-moves-...
4/ "The administration could try to use [the designations] to expand the powers of the government to surveil, investigate and prosecute left-wing activists on American soil."
via @jacknicas.bsky.social Alan Feuer @matinastevis.bsky.social @ewong.bsky.social ky.social @jimtankersley.bsky.social
3/ "Any expert of national security surveillance law following the government’s escalating actions on 'antifa' can connect the dots to FISA electronic surveillance and other counterterrorism and intelligence authorities."
www.justsecurity.org/136232/antif...
2/ link to @punchbowlnews.bsky.social reporting on state of the FISA Section 702 reauthorization effort in the House:
punchbowl.news/article/hous...
Link to my piece on Section 702 surveillance database and bogus admin designations of "antifa":
www.justsecurity.org/136232/antif...
Today, these Dems likely to hand Trump-Kash Patel FISA Section 702 power to access Americans' emails, texts, calls without a warrant
@meeks.house.gov
@jahimes.bsky.social
@adamsmith.house.gov "undecided"
While Trump admin appears poised to abuse such powers against bogus "antifa" affiliates.
Incredibly powerful. Thank you, Lonna Drewes. What bravery.
Looks like an LA criminal probe of Eric Swalwell is coming.
