Thread by @LHSummers

Transferring frozen Russian reserves would be morally right, strategically wise and politically expedient — particularly with a restive U.S. Congress.

Read our @PostOpinions column with Philip Zelikow and Robert Zoellick #Ukraine️ #Russia

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…

There is elegant justice in using Russia's state funds, now lying idle, to counter the cost of Moscow's destruction.

Govts would have plenty of legal justification to move ahead.

Those who hold Russian assets are entitled, under int'l law of state countermeasures for a grave breach of int'l law, to cancel their obligations to Russian state & apply Russian state funds to pay what Russia owes

The mistaken focus on Russian oligarchs’ yachts & other seized assets involves a comparably minor amt of money, not very liquid, and much more complicated legally.

In state action against another state’s property, there are no due process concerns. Russia is not a “person” under the U.S. Constitution, and property being taken is not “private.”

There is no sovereign immunity issue, b/ this is state-on-state; there are no private litigants

Some financial types will wring their hands about harming the U.S. dollar. This is an important issue. That is why it is so important for the G-7 to move in concert, including with euros and yen.

European leaders have stepped up. The @JoeBiden administration has not yet followed suit. It should use Russia’s frozen funds and its diplomatic leverage now, while it can decide the outcome of the war.

The time has arrived for @POTUS to tell his advisers what FDR would have told them: This is the right thing to do. Find a way.