Read this line in NYT on aborted US strike on Iran👇
1. That escalation risk is key reason Constitution demands congressional approval. 2. Trump's own Office of Legal Counsel in 2018 👇recognized "escalation" is key factor favoring American people getting a say through Congress.
1. link to NYT scoop on aborted US strike on Iran and Pentagon's warning of dangerous escalation: nytimes.com/2019/06/20/wor…
2. link to the 2018 OLC opinion explaining why it was key in US strike on Syria that "we were advised that escalation was unlikely": nytimes.com/2019/06/20/wor…
In this brief video, I put the prosecution of Davey Hearn, former Olympian, in the context of U.S. Attorney Pirro's pattern of abuse of power.
The arraignment (for reflecting pool felony charges) is on Thursday in DC.
1/🧵
2/ Judge Boasberg on Pirro's bid to criminally pursue Federal Reserve Chair:
DOJ "produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual."
3/ Magistrate Judge Faruqui:
"Given that there have been an unprecedented number of cases that the U.S. Attorney dismissed in the past ten days ... the Court is left to question if this principle [of DOJ Manual to prosecute only when more likely than not defendant will be found guilty] still applies."
"Katie Phang ... brings this action against Todd Blanche ... claiming that he has improperly withheld information and failed to comply with other requirements in violation of the Epstein Act."
"[T]he Court GRANTS Ms. Phang’s motion."
1/🧵
2/ "Ms. Phang identifies five categories of violations of the Epstein Act."
[See 5 in screenshot below.]
"The Attorney General does not respond substantively to any of these arguments."
"Accordingly, Ms. Phang is likely to succeed on the
merits."
3/ Corresponding to the five categories, Judge Sullivan states it is "ORDERED that by no later than July 2, 2026, the Attorney General shall" produce the documents or show cause.
3/ "Mr. Miller chairs a bimonthly meeting — called a 'wins' meeting — at which various government agencies report on recent successes, with the Pentagon’s death toll from boat strikes regularly highlighted as one of the biggest."
Hegseth's Defense Department's flat denial from March 31 (now appears to be provably false)⤵️
3/ BBC also fact checked the DoD's denial:
Six experts "all commented independently ... citing the missile's visual features, the way it exploded, its trajectory and the number of strikes in the area."