All I Wanted To Do Was Watch Football

This tweet threatens to break several laws. First, the President cannot notify Congress under the War Powers Resolution by tweet. 1/ https://t.co/tf5m8gXzCh

— Oona Hathaway (@oonahathaway) January 5, 2020

Second, he claims "[s]uch legal notice is not required." That's not true. Any time the president involves the armed forces into "hostilities," he must--at a minimum--notify Congress within 48 hours. 2/

— Oona Hathaway (@oonahathaway) January 5, 2020

Third, he is also obligated to "in every possible instance . . . consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities or into situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances . . ." under the WPR. 3/

— Oona Hathaway (@oonahathaway) January 5, 2020

Fourth, he is promising a "perhaps ... disproportionate" strike in response--that's another promise of an international law violation. Any action taken in self defense (the apparent justification for the strikes) must be necessary and proportionate to the threat posed. 4/

— Oona Hathaway (@oonahathaway) January 5, 2020

That any of this has to be said suggests just how insane this situation has become. Where are the White House, DoJ, DoD, State Dept. lawyers? 5/5

— Oona Hathaway (@oonahathaway) January 5, 2020

Who is going to tell him? Marco? Mitch? Ted? Rand? Lindsay? Cippollone?

You really need to talk to a lawyer, although even the best lawyers can’t undo the fact that you’re a complete idiot. https://t.co/UH2RY8YinQ

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) January 5, 2020

Dumber than a box of rocks, more dangerous than a toddler with a shotgun. Do any lawyers still work in this administration?

Wow. Proportionality is a specific requirement of the laws of armed conflict, codified in US law. The president is specifically saying that the US will "perhaps" violate international law. https://t.co/cUzaMJE8HN

— Anthony Clark Arend (@arenda) January 5, 2020

I suppose we shouldn't be outraged because somewhere on Twitter there's a Ph.D. candidate who can tell us why this would never happen.  Except the situation where Trump orders it and the Pentagon refuses to comply with an unlawful order, sounds like a pretty outrageous situation to me.