Deborah Pearlstein
@debpearlstein.bsky.social
Director, Program on Law & Public Policy, Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs. Charles & Marie Robertson Visiting Professor of Law & Public Affairs. Still teaching Con law, still aiming to get out of the new social media market.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
Cannot overstate how, from my perch as a national-security reporter, this would have been an earth-shattering scandal in a prior era.
Billionaire Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, pardoned by Donald Trump, has been accused of facilitating millions of dollars’ worth of payments to Hamas in the wake of its attack on Israel on October 7 2023. Zhao also financed the Trump family's entrance into the cryptocurrency market.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao accused of facilitating payments to Hamas
Crypto tycoon pardoned by Donald Trump faces US court complaint from families of victims of October 7 attack
www.ft.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Cannot overstate how, from my perch as a national-security reporter, this would have been an earth-shattering scandal in a prior era.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
Wow I keep hearing this, sooo misleading. Both officers & enlisted members are bound by federal law (UCMJ, art. 90) making it a crime to disobey a LAWFUL order. BUT if either obeys an order they KNOW/should know is UNLAWFUL, they can be prosecuted for the unlawful act. Oaths have 0 bearing on this.
The answer is "no," but her response is not completely wrong. McClain is deliberately threading a needle of military lingo to confuse viewers.
Oaths of ENLISTMENT and oaths taken by OFFICERS are DIFFERENT. Anyone commenting on this needs to read Hertling's piece: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-ameri...
Oaths of ENLISTMENT and oaths taken by OFFICERS are DIFFERENT. Anyone commenting on this needs to read Hertling's piece: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-ameri...
BLITZER: I want to be precise. Should members of the US military obey clearly illegal orders?
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
November 24, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Wow I keep hearing this, sooo misleading. Both officers & enlisted members are bound by federal law (UCMJ, art. 90) making it a crime to disobey a LAWFUL order. BUT if either obeys an order they KNOW/should know is UNLAWFUL, they can be prosecuted for the unlawful act. Oaths have 0 bearing on this.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
Gah, the answer is yes, if servicemembers want to avoid criminal prosecution, they must follow all LAWFUL orders & ALSO NOT follow orders they KNOW/should know are UNLAWFUL. UCMJ, art. 90; US v. Calley (1974). Every member bears this burden b/c we tho't the Nazi justfollowingorders defense was bad.
BLITZER: I want to be precise. Should members of the US military obey clearly illegal orders?
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
November 24, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Gah, the answer is yes, if servicemembers want to avoid criminal prosecution, they must follow all LAWFUL orders & ALSO NOT follow orders they KNOW/should know are UNLAWFUL. UCMJ, art. 90; US v. Calley (1974). Every member bears this burden b/c we tho't the Nazi justfollowingorders defense was bad.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
Senator Kelly’s remarks in the video are “a 100% accurate representation of what the law says."
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
Pentagon Investigates Misconduct Allegations Against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly
The review comes after Kelly, a retired Navy captain, appeared in a video with other lawmakers telling military members not to obey unlawful orders.
www.wsj.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Senator Kelly’s remarks in the video are “a 100% accurate representation of what the law says."
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
Well this is interesting... Yet another hurdle they'd have to clear if they try to re-indict Comey. No serious prosecutor would try, but of course no serious prosecutor would've brought the first one... Who gets to tell the president?
MORE: Judge Currie basically slams the door on re-indicting Comey here. She notes that "there is no legitimate peg" to extend the expired Sept. 30 statute of limitations. The window for James is a little wider. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
November 24, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Well this is interesting... Yet another hurdle they'd have to clear if they try to re-indict Comey. No serious prosecutor would try, but of course no serious prosecutor would've brought the first one... Who gets to tell the president?
Welcome news. Govt can appeal the decision that Halligan's appointment was invalid (both under statute & Const), but even if govt prevails (totally unclear), they'll have to get a grand jury to re-indict. Given how close grand jury vote was last time, huge Q whether they'll succeed. Huge.
BREAKING: Judge rules Lindsey Halligan's appointment was not valid, thus, she had no authority to present the James Comey or Letitia James indictments and the indictments are dismissed without prejudice.
November 24, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Welcome news. Govt can appeal the decision that Halligan's appointment was invalid (both under statute & Const), but even if govt prevails (totally unclear), they'll have to get a grand jury to re-indict. Given how close grand jury vote was last time, huge Q whether they'll succeed. Huge.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
BREAKING: Judge rules Lindsey Halligan's appointment was not valid, thus, she had no authority to present the James Comey or Letitia James indictments and the indictments are dismissed without prejudice.
November 24, 2025 at 5:47 PM
BREAKING: Judge rules Lindsey Halligan's appointment was not valid, thus, she had no authority to present the James Comey or Letitia James indictments and the indictments are dismissed without prejudice.
Gah, the answer is yes, if servicemembers want to avoid criminal prosecution, they must follow all LAWFUL orders & ALSO NOT follow orders they KNOW/should know are UNLAWFUL. UCMJ, art. 90; US v. Calley (1974). Every member bears this burden b/c we tho't the Nazi justfollowingorders defense was bad.
BLITZER: I want to be precise. Should members of the US military obey clearly illegal orders?
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
November 24, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Gah, the answer is yes, if servicemembers want to avoid criminal prosecution, they must follow all LAWFUL orders & ALSO NOT follow orders they KNOW/should know are UNLAWFUL. UCMJ, art. 90; US v. Calley (1974). Every member bears this burden b/c we tho't the Nazi justfollowingorders defense was bad.
Wow I keep hearing this, sooo misleading. Both officers & enlisted members are bound by federal law (UCMJ, art. 90) making it a crime to disobey a LAWFUL order. BUT if either obeys an order they KNOW/should know is UNLAWFUL, they can be prosecuted for the unlawful act. Oaths have 0 bearing on this.
The answer is "no," but her response is not completely wrong. McClain is deliberately threading a needle of military lingo to confuse viewers.
Oaths of ENLISTMENT and oaths taken by OFFICERS are DIFFERENT. Anyone commenting on this needs to read Hertling's piece: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-ameri...
Oaths of ENLISTMENT and oaths taken by OFFICERS are DIFFERENT. Anyone commenting on this needs to read Hertling's piece: www.thebulwark.com/p/what-ameri...
BLITZER: I want to be precise. Should members of the US military obey clearly illegal orders?
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
McCLAIN: You're asking an enlisted person for their opinion on what they think is legal. That's a pretty slippery slope. Follow your commander in chief. That's the oath that you took
(Not a no!)
November 24, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Wow I keep hearing this, sooo misleading. Both officers & enlisted members are bound by federal law (UCMJ, art. 90) making it a crime to disobey a LAWFUL order. BUT if either obeys an order they KNOW/should know is UNLAWFUL, they can be prosecuted for the unlawful act. Oaths have 0 bearing on this.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
"Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health...[A] staffer worried that keeping quiet...would be akin to the tobacco industry...'knowing cigs were bad & then keeping that info to themselves.'"
www.reuters.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:05 PM
"Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health...[A] staffer worried that keeping quiet...would be akin to the tobacco industry...'knowing cigs were bad & then keeping that info to themselves.'"
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
Exclusive: U.S. senators call for probe of scam ads on Facebook and Instagram
Exclusive: U.S. senators call for probe of scam ads on Facebook and Instagram
U.S. senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal have asked the heads of the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to probe Meta Platforms, following a Reuters report about the social media giant's revenue from ads on Facebook and Instagram that promote scams and banned goods.
reut.rs
November 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Exclusive: U.S. senators call for probe of scam ads on Facebook and Instagram
"Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health...[A] staffer worried that keeping quiet...would be akin to the tobacco industry...'knowing cigs were bad & then keeping that info to themselves.'"
www.reuters.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:05 PM
"Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health...[A] staffer worried that keeping quiet...would be akin to the tobacco industry...'knowing cigs were bad & then keeping that info to themselves.'"
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
Invaluable study of the real-world impact of the Roberts Court's decade+ assault on the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Tldr; The VRA was indeed an umbrella. It's still raining.
As we all wait for Callais to come down, our piece showing that Shelby County increased the racial turnout gap in most of the covered parts of the country has cleared the replication check and is incoming at JOP.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
November 24, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Invaluable study of the real-world impact of the Roberts Court's decade+ assault on the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Tldr; The VRA was indeed an umbrella. It's still raining.
Invaluable study of the real-world impact of the Roberts Court's decade+ assault on the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Tldr; The VRA was indeed an umbrella. It's still raining.
As we all wait for Callais to come down, our piece showing that Shelby County increased the racial turnout gap in most of the covered parts of the country has cleared the replication check and is incoming at JOP.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
November 24, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Invaluable study of the real-world impact of the Roberts Court's decade+ assault on the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Tldr; The VRA was indeed an umbrella. It's still raining.
It me.
Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.
November 24, 2025 at 12:20 AM
It me.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
Equally a part of American political life.… The mayor of Boston in concert with our greatest cellist.
An honor and dream come true to perform alongside Yo-Yo Ma, presented by Celebrity Series at Boston Symphony Hall. 💜
🎼Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
🎼Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
November 23, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Equally a part of American political life.… The mayor of Boston in concert with our greatest cellist.
Equally a part of American political life.… The mayor of Boston in concert with our greatest cellist.
An honor and dream come true to perform alongside Yo-Yo Ma, presented by Celebrity Series at Boston Symphony Hall. 💜
🎼Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
🎼Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
November 23, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Equally a part of American political life.… The mayor of Boston in concert with our greatest cellist.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
when I was in law school everyone knew that joining the federalist society was like getting tsa precheck for a clerkship
I’m a law prof & a YLS grad and anyone familiar w elite law schools knows it is beyond laughable to describe these places as radicalism hotbeds. Cruz knows this, as does JD Vance. But they assume that their marks are too unsophisticated to know it too. It’s condescending as hell.
Ah yes. Harvard Law School in the early 1990s, well known for its Communist professors.
November 22, 2025 at 6:52 PM
when I was in law school everyone knew that joining the federalist society was like getting tsa precheck for a clerkship
The single largest student group at the Harvard Law School today is its chapter of the Federalist Society. No joke.
Ah yes. Harvard Law School in the early 1990s, well known for its Communist professors.
November 22, 2025 at 7:10 PM
The single largest student group at the Harvard Law School today is its chapter of the Federalist Society. No joke.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
"Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10 per cent of its overall annual revenue — or $16bn — from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show" - Reuters www.ft.com/content/4560...
We have to be able to hold tech platforms accountable for fraud
Algorithms ensure that people who click on scams are likely to see more of them
www.ft.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:50 AM
"Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10 per cent of its overall annual revenue — or $16bn — from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show" - Reuters www.ft.com/content/4560...
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
detailed WashPost account of how Trump and Stephen Miller sidelined serious lawyers so they could fabricate a justification for committing murder
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:23 PM
detailed WashPost account of how Trump and Stephen Miller sidelined serious lawyers so they could fabricate a justification for committing murder
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
ICYMI, tonite I learned that Trump is way pro-Mamdani, Marjorie Taylor Greene is resigning from Congress on principle, and the biggest US defender of Ukraine's right's to self-determination under the UN Charter is (checks notes) a Republican Senator from Mississippi. Gonna try to sleep it off.
November 22, 2025 at 1:38 AM
ICYMI, tonite I learned that Trump is way pro-Mamdani, Marjorie Taylor Greene is resigning from Congress on principle, and the biggest US defender of Ukraine's right's to self-determination under the UN Charter is (checks notes) a Republican Senator from Mississippi. Gonna try to sleep it off.
Reposted by Deborah Pearlstein
Marjorie Taylor Greene RESIGNS from Congress effective January 5, 2026.
November 22, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Marjorie Taylor Greene RESIGNS from Congress effective January 5, 2026.
Just to clear what this means, the president‘s corrupt gamesmanship in appointing federal prosecutors has now compromised USGovt capacity to prosecute federal crimes from child trafficking to bank fraud in some of the biggest jurisdictions in the country.
For those keeping track:
Essayli (CDCal), Habba (DNJ), and Chatta (DNev) have been found to have been unlawfully appointed. Govt appealing.
Halligan (EDVa) & Sarcone (NDNY) pending.
(Issues not always exactly the same.)
Essayli (CDCal), Habba (DNJ), and Chatta (DNev) have been found to have been unlawfully appointed. Govt appealing.
Halligan (EDVa) & Sarcone (NDNY) pending.
(Issues not always exactly the same.)
Judge Schofield will hear argument 12/4 on whether US Attorney for the Northern District of NY was lawfully appointed. (Arises in Letitia James' challenge to a grand jury subpoena issued there.)
November 21, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Just to clear what this means, the president‘s corrupt gamesmanship in appointing federal prosecutors has now compromised USGovt capacity to prosecute federal crimes from child trafficking to bank fraud in some of the biggest jurisdictions in the country.
This is just now happening.
Crash test dummies were invented (per NYT) in 1949.
It is 2025.
Crash test dummies were invented (per NYT) in 1949.
It is 2025.
The U.S. government has released a new crash test dummy design that advocates believe will help make cars safer for women. Women are 73% more likely to be injured in a head-on crash than men. n.pr/48ne93H
Transportation Department endorses crash test dummy that more closely resembles women
The U.S. government has released a new crash test dummy design that advocates believe will help make cars safer for women. Women are 73% more likely to be injured in a head-on crash than men.
n.pr
November 21, 2025 at 3:51 PM
This is just now happening.
Crash test dummies were invented (per NYT) in 1949.
It is 2025.
Crash test dummies were invented (per NYT) in 1949.
It is 2025.