Brian Finucane
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Brian Finucane
@bcfinucane.bsky.social
Senior Adviser, US Program, International Crisis Group. Editor at Just Security. Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU Law. Ex State Dept Lawyer. War Powers| Use of Force| Counterterrorism| Law of War| War Crimes| Arms Sales
Pinned
As I wrote last spring:

"In short, the United States behaving as a predatory hegemon unconstrained by the UN Charter and threatening other states with territorial conquest...may spur more countries to acquire their own atomic insurance policies."

www.justsecurity.org/109537/upend...
Upending the International Order
Through both word and deed, President Trump has been aggressively undermining the rule of law internationally.
www.justsecurity.org
Reposted by Brian Finucane
WOW. Incredible. This is the case in which DHS claimed that ICE officers had been attacked with a shovel and fired back in self-defense. Evidence since suggests an ICE officer fired through a closed door and struck someone on the other side.

Will DHS retract the prior claims?
February 13, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Recalling once again the historic victory over the Houthis in Operation Rough Rider.
Trump: "We won World War 1. We won everything. World War 2. And everything before, during, and a little bit after except we fought a little bit differently. We fought to be politically correct. We were a politically correct force with the presidents. But now we have a real force."
February 13, 2026 at 7:20 PM
February 13, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Tapping the sign
One point I’ve been banging on about in interviews the last few weeks is that the mere threat of the use of force by the U.S. President is illegal both under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter but also the U.S. Constitution by virtue of the Take Care Clause.
February 13, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Administration operating so smoothly
February 13, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Reality aside, the administration’s victory narratives are notable.
Leavitt: "Homan was able to achieve a level of cooperation w/local police to arrest left-wing agitators when they engage in unlawful behavior, which has led to a calmer situation. You are no longer seeing videos of them breaking up ICE operations are continuing. Nothing will stop President Trump."
February 13, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Brian Finucane
Why keep thousands of people alive when you can instead make one man feel safe and special?
Exclusive: White House uses USAID funds for budget director Vought's security, documents show
The White House budget office is using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's budget chief and an archit...
www.reuters.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Brian Finucane
Given news that US forces will (finally) withdraw from al-Tanf garrison in Syria, reposting my @foreignaffairs.com essay from 2022 on how multiple US administrations played games with the law to conduct military operations in that country.

www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/syr...
An Unauthorized War
The list of adversaries U.S. forces are fighting in Syria raises questions about the underlying legal rationales for the U.S. deployment.
www.foreignaffairs.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Brian Finucane
Yesterday we learned that the Department of Justice is monitoring and tracking members of Congress’s searches of the Epstein files. There’s no sugar coating it: the administration is spying on lawmakers as they exercise their constitutional oversight responsibilities. 1/10
February 12, 2026 at 6:56 PM
When politics dictates the science
February 12, 2026 at 7:45 PM
👀
JUST IN: Judge BOASBERG has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Venezuelan men illegally deported under the Alien Enemies Act and who are currently in countries other than Venezuela.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 12, 2026 at 4:27 PM
🧵

"The Trump administration covertly sent thousands of Starlink terminals into Iran after the regime’s brutal crackdown on demonstrations last month, U.S. officials said, an effort to keep dissidents online following Tehran’s stifling of internet access." 1/n

www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Exclusive | U.S. Smuggled Thousands of Starlink Terminals Into Iran After Protest Crackdown
The Trump administration covertly sent terminals into Iran in an effort to keep dissidents online following Tehran’s stifling of internet access.
www.wsj.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Fantastic military operations the US government is enabling here.

www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Israeli Soldiers Accused of Using Polymarket to Bet on Strikes
The country’s internal security agency indicted a reservist and a civilian for security offenses, bribery and obstruction of justice in connection with the bets.
www.wsj.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:58 PM
US Senator apparently unsure about this whole Bill of Rights thing.
RON JOHNSON: Did you ever encourage people to go out there and exercise their First Amendment rights?

KEITH ELLISON: I freely admit being in favor of the First Amendment
February 12, 2026 at 3:25 PM
So, taking the caravan of domestic political repression back on the road.
Homan: "Operation Metro Surge is ending. In the next week, we're going to deploy the officers here on detail back to their home stations or to other areas of the country where they're needed."
February 12, 2026 at 2:31 PM
My "we're not disappearing people and denying people their civil rights" T-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt.
Homan: "ICE is a legitimate federal law enforcement agency. We're not out scouring the streets to disappear people or deny people their civil rights or due process."
February 12, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Given news that US forces will (finally) withdraw from al-Tanf garrison in Syria, reposting my @foreignaffairs.com essay from 2022 on how multiple US administrations played games with the law to conduct military operations in that country.

www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/syr...
An Unauthorized War
The list of adversaries U.S. forces are fighting in Syria raises questions about the underlying legal rationales for the U.S. deployment.
www.foreignaffairs.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Glad to hear GTFO Al Tanf may have finally carried the day.
February 12, 2026 at 3:19 AM
Accountability is necessary to restore the rule of law.

Vows of accountability are an important step.
@crow.house.gov: “I’m taking names”

A federal grand jury declined to indict six Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Jason Crow, on sedition charges tied to a video urging service members to refuse unlawful orders. Crow, who has accused Trump of weaponizing the DOJ, joins The Weeknight.
February 12, 2026 at 2:51 AM
“Read my lips: lots of new (illegal) taxes.”
Has any president celebrated raising taxes on Americans the way Trump has?
February 12, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Back when I first saw them in 1998, the Dropkick Murphys had a solid following of SHARPs (anti-racist skinheads) who had a strict stomp-on-sight policy towards Nazis.
February 12, 2026 at 1:35 AM
Biden administration: We’re going to engage in some ridiculous balloon shoot down shenanigans.

Trump 2.0: Hold my beer.
February 12, 2026 at 1:27 AM
Such a shame she’s not in a position to have informed views on the subject which she could share with the people’s elected representatives.
“The news is reporting”
February 12, 2026 at 1:12 AM
TFW you might have broken a digit ice climbing and are considering the advisability of the middle finger splint.
February 12, 2026 at 1:10 AM