Jeff Stein
@jeffreystein.bsky.social
Staff Attorney, ACLU National Security Project. Views here are my own.
I couldn’t help but think of the great Janet Malcolm while reading this fascinating thread, who I think agreed about the need for fidelity in quotations while also insisting on “translating” tape-recorded quotes into the written word, and doubting whether stories would or could ring true to subjects
I’m glad I had that experience as a young journalist, ingraining in me the need to quote what people actually said, and that stories I write read as true to my subjects.
Reality is often more interesting and stranger than fiction — but it requires more work on the part of a journalist to find it.
Reality is often more interesting and stranger than fiction — but it requires more work on the part of a journalist to find it.
December 24, 2025 at 6:18 PM
I couldn’t help but think of the great Janet Malcolm while reading this fascinating thread, who I think agreed about the need for fidelity in quotations while also insisting on “translating” tape-recorded quotes into the written word, and doubting whether stories would or could ring true to subjects
Reposted by Jeff Stein
For too long, presidents of both parties have claimed the authority to carry about extrajudicial killings under the guise of "national security" without any meaningful oversight from Congress or the courts.
Our leaders must chart a different course and stop President Trump's illegal boat strikes.
Our leaders must chart a different course and stop President Trump's illegal boat strikes.
Opinion | Trump’s Drone Strikes Are Wrong. Obama’s Were, Too
www.nytimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:21 PM
For too long, presidents of both parties have claimed the authority to carry about extrajudicial killings under the guise of "national security" without any meaningful oversight from Congress or the courts.
Our leaders must chart a different course and stop President Trump's illegal boat strikes.
Our leaders must chart a different course and stop President Trump's illegal boat strikes.
The president doesn’t have the power to create a secret legal universe where cold-blooded murder of civilians can be recast as lawful policy.
That’s why we @aclu.org are suing. Read more here:
www.aclu.org/news/nationa...
That’s why we @aclu.org are suing. Read more here:
www.aclu.org/news/nationa...
Trump's Boat Strikes Are Illegal. The Public Needs Answers. | ACLU
The Trump administration must release its legal justification and all other materials related to its illegal lethal strikes on civilian boats at sea.
www.aclu.org
December 18, 2025 at 11:15 PM
The president doesn’t have the power to create a secret legal universe where cold-blooded murder of civilians can be recast as lawful policy.
That’s why we @aclu.org are suing. Read more here:
www.aclu.org/news/nationa...
That’s why we @aclu.org are suing. Read more here:
www.aclu.org/news/nationa...
Reposted by Jeff Stein
Last night, President Trump bombed another civilian boat in international waters, killing 4 more people and bringing the death toll of his illegal boat strikes to 99.
These murders violate U.S. and international law and must be stopped.
These murders violate U.S. and international law and must be stopped.
US strikes another boat in eastern Pacific, killing 4 | CNN Politics
The US military conducted a strike against another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing 4 people, according to US Southern Command.
www.cnn.com
December 18, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Last night, President Trump bombed another civilian boat in international waters, killing 4 more people and bringing the death toll of his illegal boat strikes to 99.
These murders violate U.S. and international law and must be stopped.
These murders violate U.S. and international law and must be stopped.
Reposted by Jeff Stein
“The law of armed conflict does not apply to these strikes. They are premeditated killings outside of the context of armed conflict, and we have a legal concept for that conduct. It’s murder.”
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Advocacy groups sue Trump administration seeking release of legal memo justifying boat strikes
The complaint argues that the deadly strikes on alleged drug boats, which have killed at least 87 people since early September, are illegal.
www.nbcnews.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:39 PM
“The law of armed conflict does not apply to these strikes. They are premeditated killings outside of the context of armed conflict, and we have a legal concept for that conduct. It’s murder.”
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Reposted by Jeff Stein
The president doesn’t have the authority to act as judge, jury, and executioner.
Killing civilians is a crime under both domestic and international law. That's why we and our partners are suing the Trump administration to demand they release their legal justifications for these unlawful strikes.
Killing civilians is a crime under both domestic and international law. That's why we and our partners are suing the Trump administration to demand they release their legal justifications for these unlawful strikes.
December 9, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The president doesn’t have the authority to act as judge, jury, and executioner.
Killing civilians is a crime under both domestic and international law. That's why we and our partners are suing the Trump administration to demand they release their legal justifications for these unlawful strikes.
Killing civilians is a crime under both domestic and international law. That's why we and our partners are suing the Trump administration to demand they release their legal justifications for these unlawful strikes.
Reposted by Jeff Stein
BREAKING: We’re suing the Trump administration to demand they release the secret memo they claim justifies their illegal strikes on civilians at sea.
Transparency must come immediately — while there’s still an opportunity to stop this cruel and unconstitutional bombing campaign.
Transparency must come immediately — while there’s still an opportunity to stop this cruel and unconstitutional bombing campaign.
December 9, 2025 at 4:09 PM
BREAKING: We’re suing the Trump administration to demand they release the secret memo they claim justifies their illegal strikes on civilians at sea.
Transparency must come immediately — while there’s still an opportunity to stop this cruel and unconstitutional bombing campaign.
Transparency must come immediately — while there’s still an opportunity to stop this cruel and unconstitutional bombing campaign.
Reposted by Jeff Stein
at a certain point we will move beyond the "war crimes" debate, since there is no war, and into a "murder" debate that asks not just whether these are individual murders but whether they are widespread & systematic attacks on civilians and thus constitute crimes against humanity.
Excellent reporting from @charliesavage.bsky.social and @julianbarnes.bsky.social starting with the "plain reality" that there was no warship, and no fighting going on, in the Sept. 2 strike, or any of them:
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
1/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
1/2
December 6, 2025 at 12:07 AM
at a certain point we will move beyond the "war crimes" debate, since there is no war, and into a "murder" debate that asks not just whether these are individual murders but whether they are widespread & systematic attacks on civilians and thus constitute crimes against humanity.
Check out my colleague Brett Max Kaufman in @justsecurity.org. As Brett incisively explains, respect for the rule of law depends on an honest assessment of the decades long, bipartisan project of championing executive branch impunity in “national security” cases. www.justsecurity.org/124776/secre...
November 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Check out my colleague Brett Max Kaufman in @justsecurity.org. As Brett incisively explains, respect for the rule of law depends on an honest assessment of the decades long, bipartisan project of championing executive branch impunity in “national security” cases. www.justsecurity.org/124776/secre...
Reposted by Jeff Stein
I wrote about Trump’s missile strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, and about the secret Justice Department opinion that underwrites them. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/o...
Opinion | The Secretive Office Approving Trump’s Boat Strikes
www.nytimes.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:26 AM
I wrote about Trump’s missile strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, and about the secret Justice Department opinion that underwrites them. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/o...
Reposted by Jeff Stein
However the Trump administration now tries to justify its strikes on private boats in the Caribbean, nothing it can say magically unlocks legal authority to use lethal force against civilians.
Congress must rein in this egregious abuse of power.
Congress must rein in this egregious abuse of power.
Trump's boat strikes are killing potentially innocent civilians. They must be stopped.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military had killed six people in a strike on a boat that, Trump said, was “trafficking narcotics.”
www.msnbc.com
October 19, 2025 at 6:25 PM
However the Trump administration now tries to justify its strikes on private boats in the Caribbean, nothing it can say magically unlocks legal authority to use lethal force against civilians.
Congress must rein in this egregious abuse of power.
Congress must rein in this egregious abuse of power.
Reposted by Jeff Stein
NEW: We, along with our partners at @ccrjustice.org, are demanding more information on President Trump's illegal drone strikes on civilian boats in the Caribbean.
Under international and domestic law, the President does not have the power to arbitrarily carry out assassinations.
Under international and domestic law, the President does not have the power to arbitrarily carry out assassinations.
October 15, 2025 at 7:41 PM
NEW: We, along with our partners at @ccrjustice.org, are demanding more information on President Trump's illegal drone strikes on civilian boats in the Caribbean.
Under international and domestic law, the President does not have the power to arbitrarily carry out assassinations.
Under international and domestic law, the President does not have the power to arbitrarily carry out assassinations.