Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule have an essay in Slate that argues that it was appropriate for President Obama to ignore OLC’s advice related to the War Powers Resolution.  The thrust of their argument, which contrasts sharply with Trevor Morrison’s recent argument, is that “[t]here is no reason that the president — the sole officer of government constitutionally required to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed’ — should be bound, even presumptively, by the legal views of those who ar

For the benefit of those who could not watch the SFRC hearing this morning on Libya and the WPR, here are highlights from the oral testimony from State Department Legal Advisor Harold Koh (the written testimony is not yet publicly available, but we will post it shortly).

Koh's opening statement:

The word "hostilities," which is the trigger for the 60-day clock, is an "ambiguous term of art" that was not defined in the WPR, and the legislative history on the point is indeterminate.  The word is not to be construed just by reference to dictionaries, but in no small pa

Well, this is going to be interesting, and probably more than a little tense.  State Department Legal Advisor Harold Koh will testify tomorrow morning, at 10 eastern (in theory), before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  Watch it here.  And be sure to prepare by reading Josh Rogin's handy account of the status of the Kerry/McCain Resolution authorizing operations i

Columbia law professor Trevor Morrison has a new essay, posted at SSRN, entitled "Libya, 'Hostilities,' the Office of Legal Counsel, and the Process of Executive Branch Legal Interpretation." Among other things, the paper continues Morrison's ongoing exchange with Bruce Ackerman (see here and here) regarding the functioning of OLC. I asked Trevor to condense the argument for posting Lawfare.