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Charles International Law
@charlesintl.bsky.social
Accomplished and effective litigation firm led by a progressive former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy SEAL. We specialize in immigration and international law, especially political asylum for those who speak truth to power.
Most immigrant visa cases must go through consular processing, and it’s unforgiving. Our new research guide covers NVC review, consular interviews, medical exams, and §221(g) delays.

Read here:
www.charlesinternationallaw.com/consular-pro...

#immigrationlaw #consularprocessing #NVC #visas
Consular Processing Overview | Immigrant Visa Guide & Legal Standards — Charles International Law
A clear, attorney-written guide to consular processing for immigrant visas. Learn how USCIS approval leads to National Visa Center (NVC) review, consular interviews, medical exams, admissibility check...
www.charlesinternationallaw.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:58 PM
The real legal standards around unlawful orders, why officers are obligated to refuse them, and why the GOP’s “sedition” narrative collapses immediately under constitutional analysis.

natecharles.substack.com/p/refusing-u...

#RuleOfLaw #UnlawfulOrders #NationalSecurity #MilitaryLaw #Democracy
Refusing Unlawful Orders: What the Law Actually Requires—And Why Republicans Are Dead Wrong
A Naval Academy–trained perspective on duty, constitutional limits, and the dangerous misuse of “sedition” in American politics.
natecharles.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Democratic senators just reminded everyone that U.S. service members and intelligence personnel have a legal duty to refuse unlawful orders. They’re absolutely right.

open.substack.com/pub/natechar...

#UnlawfulOrders #Constitution #RuleOfLaw #NationalSecurity #Democracy
When Duty and Law Collide:
An Officer’s Obligation to Disobey
open.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Why do ordinary people turn toward authoritarian strongmen—often against their own long-term interests?
I break down the psychology behind the shift and how democracies can push back.

natecharles.substack.com/p/the-psycho...

#Authoritarianism #Democracy #Psychology #NationalSecurity #HumanRights
The Psychology of Authoritarianism
What drives ordinary people to embrace strongmen, and how to resist it
natecharles.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:55 PM
We’ve turned “socialism” and “communism” into catch-all political insults. The reality is more complicated—and more important. Here’s why the misuse matters:
open.substack.com/pub/natechar...

#Politics #Democracy #Governance
Stop Misusing “Socialism” and “Communism” — Words That No Longer Mean Anything in American Politics
How both the left and the right have corrupted two technical economic terms into empty political weapons—and why that distortion is poisoning our national discourse.
open.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 8:17 PM
"The Librarians" exposes more than book bans. This is a coordinated effort to reshape public education into an engine for Christian nationalist ideology.

I break down the tactics, the danger, and why parallels to "The Handmaid’s Tale" are no longer academic.
natecharles.substack.com/p/the-librar...
The Librarians: A Documentary That Refuses to Look Away
Why This Film Matters More Than Its Marketing Suggests
natecharles.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:11 PM
A huge milestone with the New Glenn launch and booster recovery—proud of my brother Jordan and the whole Blue Origin team. Spaceflight isn’t just engineering; it reflects the curiosity and ambition that democracies depend on.

View the full piece:
natecharles.substack.com/p/why-spacef...
Why Spaceflight Still Matters
A successful New Glenn launch, a recovered booster, and what it all says about the values a democracy can’t afford to lose.
natecharles.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The new Epstein files show Trump spent hours with a trafficking victim—but the real story is how we’ve stopped feeling it.

The “slow drip” is a propaganda technique—a controlled disclosure strategy designed to dull outrage.

open.substack.com/pub/natechar...

#RuleOfLaw #Propaganda #ScandalFatigue
The Slow Drip Strategy: How Propaganda Numbs the Public
Why the Epstein email revelations about Trump are landing with a whisper, not a bang — and how scandal fatigue is being weaponized.
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Veterans Day isn’t about flags or freebies.
It’s about an oath — not to a man, but to the Constitution.
And that oath still matters.

🎙️ Read or listen: open.substack.com/pub/natechar...

#VeteransDay #RuleOfLaw #Democracy #TheOathStillMatters
The Oath Still Matters
A veteran reflects on why America’s promise is worth defending — and why blind loyalty threatens the ideals we swore to protect.
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Americans love spy stories but rarely understand the real rules.
There are only two laws that let the U.S. government tap your phone—and I’ve operated under both.
Read my breakdown of Title III, FISA, and how post-Watergate reforms still define modern surveillance:
open.substack.com/pub/natechar...
How the Government Can Legally Spy on You — and the Only Two Ways It’s Allowed To
Americans who read too many spy novels and watch too many crime shows tend to think surveillance is a shadowy free-for-all. It isn’t.
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:41 PM
The Pentagon’s new “Legislative Affairs bottleneck” cuts Congress off from the information it needs to oversee U.S. military operations.

I explain why this order is almost certainly illegal—and why it threatens democratic accountability itself.

🔗 natecharles.substack.com/p/hegseth-pe...
Locked Out of the Pentagon
Why Pete Hegseth’s New Memo Is Almost Certainly Illegal — and a Direct Threat to Congressional Oversight
natecharles.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:55 PM
My marriage fell apart—because of my own mistakes.

Rebuilding my life changed how I understand privilege. It’s not about guilt. It’s about gratitude—and how you use it.

The real divide in America isn’t right or left. It’s giver or taker.

open.substack.com/pub/natechar...

#Privilege #Resilience
My Marriage Fell Apart Because of My Own Mistake — And What It Taught Me About Privilege
A personal story about failure, rebuilding, and the difference between guilt and gratitude when it comes to privilege.
open.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:06 PM
MAGA says: “We’re nothing like the Nazis.”
True — you’re not the Nazis of 1945.
You’re the Nazis of 1933.

A 2½-minute episode of The Rule of Law Brief explains why the comparison isn’t hysteria.

🎧 open.substack.com/pub/natechar...

#RuleOfLaw #Democracy #HistoryRepeats #Podcast
Actually, Comparing MAGA to the Nazis Is Totally Reasonable.
Summary:
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The Constitution was built on friction and compromise — not obedience and control.
My latest essay explores how MAGA’s authoritarian “my way or the highway” politics are fundamentally incompatible with the Framers’ design.

open.substack.com/pub/natechar...

#Democracy #RuleOfLaw #FederalistPapers
We Compromise or We Die
How the Government Shutdown Highlights MAGA’s Incompatibility with the Framers’ Values
open.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Robert E. Lee wasn’t a tragic hero — he was a traitor.

My latest Substack examines how historians (including Erik Larson in Demons of Unrest) have repeated the same comforting fiction for 150 years — and why it’s time to end the myth of the “gentleman general.”

🔗 open.substack.com/pub/natechar...
Robert E. Lee Was a Horrible Human Being — And It’s Time to Stop Pretending Otherwise
American historians have treated treason as tragedy for 150 years. It’s long past time to tell the truth.
open.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Trump’s “America First” moves in Qatar and Argentina make sense on paper — but only by accident.

When ego drives policy, even good outcomes undermine credibility.

🔗 open.substack.com/pub/natechar...

#ForeignPolicy #NationalSecurity #McCain
Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Isn’t “America First.” It’s Donald Trump First.
His latest deals with Qatar and Argentina reveal a pattern of ego-driven politics masquerading as national strategy — sometimes right by accident, never by design.
open.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Please enjoy our new research guide on imprisonment as a form of persecution in U.S. asylum law!

www.charlesinternationallaw.com/detention-an...
Detention and Imprisonment as Persecution in Asylum Law — Charles International Law
Understand when detention, prosecution, or imprisonment qualifies as persecution under U.S. asylum law, including political, religious, or arbitrary arrests.
www.charlesinternationallaw.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:57 PM
The No Kings Day rally in Lebanon, PA, today was a glimpse of the America I still believe in.

Hundreds stood peacefully for democracy, shoulder to shoulder, defending the same Constitution we’ve shared for 250 years.

natecharles.substack.com/p/no-kings-d...

#NoKingsDay #RuleOfLaw #Democracy
We Are Not Divided
Reflections from No Kings Day in Lebanon, PA
natecharles.substack.com
October 19, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Federal immigration law still treats marijuana as a controlled substance — and non-citizens can be denied entry just for saying they used it, even where it’s legal.

open.substack.com/pub/natechar...

#ImmigrationLaw #RuleOfLaw #CivilLiberties
Do Not Admit to Smoking Weed on Your Way into the United States
The Hidden Risk at U.S.
open.substack.com
October 18, 2025 at 4:21 AM
DOJ calls it an “Antifa terrorism” case. The law says otherwise.
Antifa isn’t — and can’t be — a designated terrorist group.
This Texas indictment proves my point, not theirs.
🎧 natecharles.substack.com/p/antifa-terrorism-indictment
#RuleOfLaw #DOJ #Antifa
natecharles.substack.com
October 18, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Charles International Law Welcomes Attorney Alana Wade Back to the Team

open.substack.com/pub/natechar...
Welcome Home, Alana Wade
From hardhat diver to human rights attorney — we’re proud to welcome Alana Wade back to Charles International Law.
open.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Please enjoy our latest research guide on physical harm as a form of persecution in U.S. asylum law.

www.charlesinternationallaw.com/physical-har...
Physical Harm as a Form of Persecution in U.S. Asylum Law | Charles International Law — Charles International Law
Learn how U.S. asylum law defines physical persecution, including assault, detention, sexual violence, and FGM, and how it differs from torture under CAT.
www.charlesinternationallaw.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Join Me at the No Kings Rally in Lebanon, Pennsylvania — October 18, 2025.

open.substack.com/pub/natechar...
See You at the No Kings Rally in Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Standing up for democracy, rule of law, and our shared belief that America doesn’t have kings.
open.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:40 PM