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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 10h

Mike Mattler is truly the expert I'd want to hear from most on Trump's EO that appears to extend US security guarantees to #Qatar - former lead Executive branch treaty lawyer, former counsel at SFRC.

Read his analysis of the key Qs and how to think about them:

www.justsecurity.org/122118/trump...

Some Questions About Trump’s Order Pledging to Defend Qatar’s Security

Trump's EO on Qatar raises a number of important legal and policy questions that merit careful consideration by Congress and the public.

www.justsecurity.org

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 1d

Secretary Rubio has this wrong.

The US is not currently engaged in hostilities with Houthis or Iranian proxies, so there's no termination required.

And the resolution specifically states it does NOT prevent the US "from defending itself from an armed attack or threat of an imminent armed attack"

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Reposted by Tess Bridgeman

Rebecca Ingber @becingber.bsky.social · 2d

Hard to imagine a more important piece right now:

The Crisis in Uniform: The Danger of Presidential Immunity for the U.S. Military

Military personnel are increasingly aware that they may be asked to prioritize loyalty to an individual over their rights and responsibilities

www.justsecurity.org

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 2d

"As the chief lawyer for our federal government you have a unique responsibility to ensure maintenance of our constitutional standards

How did you conclude that these strikes are legal?"

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 2d

"Due process is the cornerstone of our constitution. I’m deeply concerned about the authority our president seems to be asserting to summarily kill people suspected of criminal activity outside the law."

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 2d

"I’m concerned with what the limiting principle is. Whether the government could summarily kill people it just declares are cartel members as well as unlawful combatants inside the United States or if they were American citizens."

These aren't hypos. Trump plans to "fight the enemy from within..."

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 2d

Thank you @coons.senate.gov.

The AG is unwilling to discuss law, but Senators must not acquiesce in lawlessness.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

COONS: How did you conclude that these strikes on boats in the open ocean are legal?

BONDI: I'm not going to discuss any legal advice that my department may or may not have issued

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Reposted by Tess Bridgeman

Edward Swaine @edswaine.bsky.social · 3d

Re-upping these questions from @tessbridgeman.bsky.social & Mary McCord. Note that the subsequent CNN story on the classified OLC memo does not report whether the memo was prepared before the recent strikes, which is one of the questions posed.

Edward Swaine @edswaine.bsky.social · 6d

Valuable questions, terrific format -- ideally reaching Senate staff.

Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 6d

Mary McCord, former Acting Assistant AG for National Security, and I teamed up on Qs Senators should ask #Bondi at her Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, on strikes that have killed 17 people to date.

The implications are serious. Consider a few of the Qs:

www.justsecurity.org/121862/ask-b...

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 6d

Four more people were killed this morning.

To repeat:

- If it can happen at sea, it can happen anywhere

- Trump has offered no definition or limiting principle for who can be labeled a "terrorist" and summarily killed

- And no plausible legal theory for why an armed conflict exists

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 6d

This is, of course, extremely dangerous and unprecedented, with implications far beyond the drug trafficking context.

If it can happen on the high seas, it can happen anywhere.

If it can happen to suspected drug traffickers labeled "terrorists," it can happen to anyone else labeled a "terrorist."

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 6d

As things stand, it looks like Trump has a blank check to:

1. Deem anyone a "terrorist" (no definition has been offered - is it whatever Trump says?) and order their killing

2. Declare an armed conflict exists (no accepted legal test for existence of one has been met) to try to make it look lawful

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 6d

- Does DOJ believe Art. II of the Constitution gives the President authority to kill anyone he deems a terrorist? Under what law?

If so, what criteria need to be met to be deemed a terrorist?

-Does it give Trump the authority to kill anyone he suspects of planning to commit crimes in the US?

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 6d

- Could #Trump order the military to kill people suspected of involvement in the drug trade inside Venezuela? In Colombia? Other countries?

- What about ordering killings inside the U.S.? In Florida? in New York? LA? If not, why is ordering killings in other places lawful?

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 6d

Mary McCord, former Acting Assistant AG for National Security, and I teamed up on Qs Senators should ask #Bondi at her Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, on strikes that have killed 17 people to date.

The implications are serious. Consider a few of the Qs:

www.justsecurity.org/121862/ask-b...

What the Senate Judiciary Committee Should Ask A.G. Bondi on Drug Cartel Strikes

Annotated questions the Senate Judiciary Committee could ask Attorney General Pam Bondi on lethal strikes against drug cartels.

www.justsecurity.org

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 13d

We can't be sure what Hegseth's meeting with senior military officers next week will entail - all the more reason to prepare for plausible contingencies.

Start with Eugene Fidell's new Q&A:

www.justsecurity.org/121421/hegse...

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 23d

Read top expert analysis (and listen to/watch our podcast) on the lethal strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean here 👇

www.justsecurity.org/120753/colle...

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 23d

- A program of lethal strikes against suspected criminals (summary executions, no due process),

- being carried out by the U.S. military,

- outside of any armed conflict and without any threat of imminent armed attack

This is a five-alarm fire for the rule of law:

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 23d

President Trump today: “We knocked off, actually, three boats, not two, but you saw two.”

Podcast discussion about this new policy by top experts ⤵️

@tessbridgeman.bsky.social @bcfinucane.bsky.social @becingber.bsky.social

www.buzzsprout.com/2074610/epis...

Murder on the High Seas? What You Need to Know about the U.S. Strike on the Caribbean Vessel - The Just Security Podcast

Last week, the United States carried out an unprecedented strike against a vessel suspected of narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean, destroying the vessel and reportedly killing 11 people on board. ...

www.buzzsprout.com

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Reposted by Tess Bridgeman

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 28d

Many thanks to Senator @slotkin.senate.gov for this wide-ranging conversation with @tessbridgeman.bsky.social and me on @justsecurity.org podcast.

Economic security
China and AI
Fentanyl and military operations against drug cartels
Military on U.S. streets
more

www.buzzsprout.com/2074610/epis...

The Just Security Podcast: Sen. Elissa Slotkin on a New Vision for American National Security - The Just Security Podcast

Last week, Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) unveiled a new “national security war plan,” centered on reviving the middle class, winning the global tech race, and rethinking how Americans are protected in...

www.buzzsprout.com

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 29d

Read this by leading expert and former JAG Geoff Corn on the speed boat attack last week.

Crucial insight on the right Qs - how did this order make it down the chain of command? - and the dangers for the rule of law and potential abuse of military power:

👇

www.thecipherbrief.com/a-dangerous-...

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Reposted by Tess Bridgeman

Mike Schmitt @mikeschmitt.bsky.social · 29d

My thoughts on the Tren de Aragua speedboat strike.

Just Security @justsecurity.org · 29d

Striking Drug Cartels under the Jus ad Bellum and Law of Armed Conflict

By top laws of war expert @mikeschmitt.bsky.social

www.justsecurity.org/120235/drug-...

Striking Drug Cartels under the Jus ad Bellum and Law of Armed Conflict

Legal expert discusses laws of war and law on the resort to force in U.S. military action against Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.

www.justsecurity.org

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 29d

Must read by @mikeschmitt.bsky.social on the U.S. strike against a suspected drug smuggling vessel in the Caribbean.

An excellent analysis & a cautionary note: "We seem to be on a normative slippery slope that endangers the very values the right to use force in self-defense is meant to protect."

Just Security @justsecurity.org · 29d

Striking Drug Cartels under the Jus ad Bellum and Law of Armed Conflict

By top laws of war expert @mikeschmitt.bsky.social

www.justsecurity.org/120235/drug-...

Striking Drug Cartels under the Jus ad Bellum and Law of Armed Conflict

Legal expert discusses laws of war and law on the resort to force in U.S. military action against Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.

www.justsecurity.org

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Reposted by Tess Bridgeman

Just Security @justsecurity.org · 29d

Striking Drug Cartels under the Jus ad Bellum and Law of Armed Conflict

By top laws of war expert @mikeschmitt.bsky.social

www.justsecurity.org/120235/drug-...

Striking Drug Cartels under the Jus ad Bellum and Law of Armed Conflict

Legal expert discusses laws of war and law on the resort to force in U.S. military action against Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.

www.justsecurity.org

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Tess Bridgeman @tessbridgeman.bsky.social · Sep 9

NEW: The war powers report on Trump's attack on a suspected drug trafficking vessel in the Caribbean last week is included in our @rcls-nyu.bsky.social War Powers Reporting Project searchable database and included here:

warpowers.lawandsecurity.org/reports/2025...

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Reposted by Tess Bridgeman

Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 9

Murder on the High Seas? What You Need to Know about the U.S. Strike on the Caribbean Vessel

@becingber.bsky.social & @bcfinucane.bsky.social join @tessbridgeman.bsky.social to unpack the attack, the Trump admin’s limited justification, and what to expect next.

www.buzzsprout.com/2074610/epis...

Murder on the High Seas? What You Need to Know about the U.S. Strike on the Caribbean Vessel - The Just Security Podcast

Last week, the United States carried out an unprecedented strike against a vessel suspected of narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean, destroying the vessel and reportedly killing 11 people on board. ...

www.buzzsprout.com

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Reposted by Tess Bridgeman

Rebecca Ingber @becingber.bsky.social · Sep 9

It’s never good news when this group’s expertise is making the podcast waves but I was honored to speak with @tessbridgeman.bsky.social and @bcfinucane.bsky.social for the @justsecurity.org podcast this week on the President’s air strike on people he alleges were smuggling drugs at sea—

Just Security @justsecurity.org · Sep 9

Murder on the High Seas? What You Need to Know about the U.S. Strike on the Caribbean Vessel

@becingber.bsky.social & @bcfinucane.bsky.social join @tessbridgeman.bsky.social to unpack the attack, the Trump admin’s limited justification, and what to expect next.

www.buzzsprout.com/2074610/epis...

Murder on the High Seas? What You Need to Know about the U.S. Strike on the Caribbean Vessel - The Just Security Podcast

Last week, the United States carried out an unprecedented strike against a vessel suspected of narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean, destroying the vessel and reportedly killing 11 people on board. ...

www.buzzsprout.com

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