War Powers
The Korea War Powers Precedent
Charles A. Stevenson Thu, Jul 23, 2020, 10:52 AM
Seventy years ago, Congress abdicated its power to declare war. Here’s how it happened.
Latest in history
War Powers
Remembering the Montgomery Ward Seizure: FDR and War Production Powers
Matthew Waxman, Samuel Weitzman Sat, Apr 25, 2020, 8:33 AM
On its anniversary, the Montgomery Ward episode is a stark reminder of what unleashing wartime government power over industry has actually looked like.
Impeachment
Impeachment as National Security: The Framers’ Intentions
Charles Edel Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 9:06 AM
One of the most significant yet underappreciated lessons of the history of impeachment is that it was intended as a tool to strengthen the nation’s security.
Impeachment
Impeachment, Elections and Bad History
David Priess Sat, Oct 19, 2019, 11:00 AM
Law professor and former deputy assistant attorney general John Yoo this week declared, “What the framers thought was that the American people would judge a president at the time of an election. They would never have wanted an impeachment within a year of an election.”
War Powers
Daniel Webster, War Powers and Bird$h*t
Matthew Waxman Wed, Aug 21, 2019, 8:00 AM
In the course of researching a book, I’ve come across many episodes that Benjamin Wittes and I like to call “Weird War Powers $h*t.” One of my favorites is a story about American constitutional war powers and actual $h*t. It’s a story about very expensive bird-$h*t, or guano, and how one of the 19th century’s most important thinkers on war powers nearly stumbled the nation, figuratively speaking, into a giant pile of it.
Daniel Webster and War Powers
Disinformation
Is the Threat of ‘Fake Science’ Real?
Alden Fletcher Mon, Aug 5, 2019, 8:15 AM
In the early 1980s, Soviet intelligence began Operation Infektion—a campaign to erode trust in the U.S. government by orchestrating a series of scientific papers and news articles arguing that the U.S. government created the HIV/AIDS virus.
Saudi Arabia
The Yemen Resolution and the Historical U.S.-Saudi Security Relationship
Elizabeth Allan Thu, Apr 25, 2019, 1:12 PM
On April 16, President Trump vetoed S.J. Res. 7, a joint resolution directing the United States to end support for the Saudi-led military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The veto was the second of Trump’s presidency and the second time a U.S.
The Russia Connection
History Suggests Proving Collusion Between the Trump Campaign and Russia May be Impossible
Dov H. Levin Fri, Dec 7, 2018, 9:56 AM
When the Mueller investigation began in May 2017, many people hoped that it would shed light on what was perhaps the central question regarding Russia’s intervention in the 2016 U.S. election: whether the Trump campaign actively colluded with the Russian government’s interference operation.
Executive Power
The Anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine
Matthew Waxman Sun, Dec 2, 2018, 9:19 AM
Today is the 195th birthday of the Monroe Doctrine. On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe proclaimed in his Seventh Annual Message to Congress that the United States would oppose any European efforts to colonize or reassert control in the Western Hemisphere:
Readings
How To Declare War (Anno Domini 1429; 2017 Repost)
Kenneth Anderson Sat, Apr 15, 2017, 3:55 PM
Jhesus-Maria, King of England, and you, Duke of Bedford, who call yourself regent of the Kingdom of France, you, Guillaume de la Poule, count of Suffort, Jean, sire of Talbot, and you, Thomas, sire of Scales, who call yourselves lieutenants of the Duke of Bedford, acknowledge the summons of the King of Heaven. Render to the Maid here sent by God the King of Heaven, the keys of all the good towns which you have taken and violated in France. She is here come by God’s will to reclaim the blood royal.