Ryan Goodman Profile picture
Apr 30, 2021 5 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Washington Post scoop:

FBI gave #RonJohnson defensive briefing in 2020 warning he was being targeted by Russia to spread disinformation on Biden.

What did he do?

He considered it “completely useless and unnecessary”

With his usual paranoia, he thought FBI briefing was a trick
2. And then, worse of all, Johnson continued to use his office to act as a conduit for the Russian disinformation campaign to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.

As @AshaRangappa_ and I detailed at length here.👇

justsecurity.org/71947/how-sen-…
3. Here’s the Washington Post report.

The headline is about Giuliani,
But lots of details about FBI’s warning Senator Johnson.

(scoop by @nakashimae @shaneharris @thamburger)

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
4. Ron Johnson in his own—self-incriminating—words:

“I suspected that the briefing was being given to be used at some future date for the purpose that it is now being used: to offer the biased media an opportunity to falsely accuse me of being a tool of Russia despite warnings.”
5. Worth recalling this is not a partisan issue.

Fellow Republican Senators—including Richard Burr and Marco Rubio—warned Johnson that he was using his congressional powers in a way that could aid the Kremlin’s efforts.

@AndrewDesiderio report in 2020:
politico.com/news/2020/02/2…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Ryan Goodman

Ryan Goodman Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @rgoodlaw

Nov 3
Today, Trump-Hegseth run out of time on War Powers Resolution and boat strikes.

DOJ has come up with a theory why the law does not apply.

It's wrong, and per this article, several GOP Senators and a Trump cabinet member flat rejected that theory when Obama tried it in 2011.
1/ Image
2/ In 2011 Libya operation, Obama tried the same theory as part of a four-factor test. Trump does not even have three of those four factors.

On the fourth one, which Obama tried (and now Trump does) there was very strong bipartisan pushback including from ...

Kristi Noem... Image
3/ In 2011, those in Congress who flat rejected the Obama (now Obama-Trump) theory of "hostilities" on War Powers Resolution included:

@SenMikeLee
@SenBillCassidy
@JohnCornyn
@SenRonJohnson
@SenRandPaul
@SenatorTimScott
@SenCapito

@KristiNoem

Standing by principle, ...
Read 7 tweets
Oct 24
Boat strikes put U.S. service members in legal jeopardy:

"Some junior officers have asked military lawyers, known as judge advocates general or JAGs, for written sign-off before taking part in strikes .... It does not appear that such memos were furnished." Image
2/ "Career military and civilian lawyers in the Defense Department and lawyers at other agencies who might otherwise be involved in the deliberations have left government or been excluded from the discussions."
3/ "Lawyers at the NSC, State Department, Justice Department and the Pentagon earlier this year questioned the legal basis for military strikes on cartels without authorization from Congress, and for a while were able to forestall action."
Read 4 tweets
Oct 19
It’s important to understand why DOJ indictment of John Bolton seems very different than Letitia James and Jim Comey indictments.

1. Biden administration opened the criminal investigation of John Bolton in 2022. It's been detailed investigative work ever since.

CNN⤵️

🧵 Image
2. Yes, the Biden DOJ did not indict Bolton. But they also did not close the investigation.

Plus CNN reports: “Unlike prosecutions brought against Comey and James, the Bolton case has maintained the support of career prosecutors and investigators.” Image
3. The Bolton Indictment is signed by career prosecutors (unlike James and Comey indictments). Image
Read 6 tweets
Oct 6
What was the real message at Quantico?

Janine Davidson (former Undersecretary of Navy and former Chair of Defense Policy Board) discusses:

The domestic paradigm shift in President Trump's addressing Active Duty military leaders with National Guard Adjunct Generals excluded.
🧵 Image
2/3 source:

Trump’s Outline of a Domestic War - The real message from Quantico
justsecurity.org/121940/trumps-…
3/3 audio version via Just Security's Out Loud series

buzzsprout.com/2509956/episod…
Read 4 tweets
Oct 6
Judge Immergut in Oregon v Trump now:

"I grant plaintiffs second motion for a TRO."

Federalized Texas and California Guard to Portland is a "DIRECT CONTRAVENTION" of court's TRO from Saturday.

Both on 12406 statute and Tenth Amendment grounds.
2/ Your reminder that Judge Immergut was appointed to the bench by President Trump.
3/ The new Temporary Restraining Order bars the deployment by the Trump administration of any federalized National Guard -- eg California or Texas National Guard -- in Portland.
Read 4 tweets
Oct 2
“This is not stretching the envelope,” Geoffrey Corn said. “This is shredding it."

On Administration's confidential note to Congress

Completely right

Drug cartels not = "armed conflict"
People killed are civilians

Corn is retired JAG, Army's former law-of-war senior adviser Image
2/ source:

Trump ‘Determined’ the U.S. Is Now in a War With Drug Cartels, Congress Is Told

A notice calls the people the U.S. military recently killed on suspicion of drug smuggling “unlawful combatants.”

By @charlie_savage @EricSchmittNYT
nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/…
@charlie_savage @EricSchmittNYT 3/ "The administration has also stressed that about 100,000 Americans annually die from overdoses.

However, the focus of the ..attacks has been boats from Venezuela. The surge of overdose deaths...has been driven by fentanyl that drug trafficking experts say comes from Mexico" Image
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(