Jonathan M. Winer
@jonathanmwiner.bsky.social
Former Senate counsel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, U.S. Special Envoy, now Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow, Middle East Institute. Write about law & politics, national & global security, Middle East, financial crime, cross-border issues.
I do not see any legal basis for these operations would make them lawful.
The implications if they are indeed unlawful under either domestic and international law for those involved in principle include potential legal actions by the families of the victims. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
The implications if they are indeed unlawful under either domestic and international law for those involved in principle include potential legal actions by the families of the victims. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
Top military lawyer raised legal concerns about boat strikes
The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources...
www.nbcnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I do not see any legal basis for these operations would make them lawful.
The implications if they are indeed unlawful under either domestic and international law for those involved in principle include potential legal actions by the families of the victims. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
The implications if they are indeed unlawful under either domestic and international law for those involved in principle include potential legal actions by the families of the victims. www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive...
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive...
November 8, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive...
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive...
Reposted by Jonathan M. Winer
One of the characteristics of a totalitarian regime with a personality cult is that the leader makes no distinction between what is his privately and what belongs to the state. They are one and the same thing.
October 22, 2025 at 4:55 AM
One of the characteristics of a totalitarian regime with a personality cult is that the leader makes no distinction between what is his privately and what belongs to the state. They are one and the same thing.
This kind of prepation of the public for how to manage what may be coming is of huge importance. The situation in Philadelphia is especially fraught because it is already so partisan. All but one GOP member of PA house earlier voted to impeach this Dem DA for not doing Philadelphia crime their way.
District Attorney Larry Krasner will host a series of town halls this week to discuss how Philadelphians should prepare and city officials should respond if President Donald Trump sends the National Guard into the city.
DA Krasner to host town halls to discuss how residents can respond if Trump deploys National Guard to Philadelphia
Krasner will hold meetings in West Oak Lane, Southwest Philadelphia, and Society Hill to address the possibility of the president deploying troops to the city.
inquirer.com
September 15, 2025 at 5:51 PM
This kind of prepation of the public for how to manage what may be coming is of huge importance. The situation in Philadelphia is especially fraught because it is already so partisan. All but one GOP member of PA house earlier voted to impeach this Dem DA for not doing Philadelphia crime their way.
Seven deadly Sins
Pride- Excessive love of oneself, the original & most serious sin.
Greed-Excessive desire for wealth. Wrath - Uncontrolled hatred, rage, & fury.
Envy.
Lust.
Gluttony.
Sloth: Spiritual & physical laziness, indifference to the divine.
Something to reflect on in this period.
Pride- Excessive love of oneself, the original & most serious sin.
Greed-Excessive desire for wealth. Wrath - Uncontrolled hatred, rage, & fury.
Envy.
Lust.
Gluttony.
Sloth: Spiritual & physical laziness, indifference to the divine.
Something to reflect on in this period.
August 26, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Seven deadly Sins
Pride- Excessive love of oneself, the original & most serious sin.
Greed-Excessive desire for wealth. Wrath - Uncontrolled hatred, rage, & fury.
Envy.
Lust.
Gluttony.
Sloth: Spiritual & physical laziness, indifference to the divine.
Something to reflect on in this period.
Pride- Excessive love of oneself, the original & most serious sin.
Greed-Excessive desire for wealth. Wrath - Uncontrolled hatred, rage, & fury.
Envy.
Lust.
Gluttony.
Sloth: Spiritual & physical laziness, indifference to the divine.
Something to reflect on in this period.
His language is absolutist, grievance-laden, & punitive. The very existence of an authority beyond himself provokes him to try to destroy it. He will “never submit or yield,” urging his legions to find glory in rebellion and vengeance. Of course I am describing Satan in Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”
August 26, 2025 at 2:55 AM
His language is absolutist, grievance-laden, & punitive. The very existence of an authority beyond himself provokes him to try to destroy it. He will “never submit or yield,” urging his legions to find glory in rebellion and vengeance. Of course I am describing Satan in Milton’s “Paradise Lost.”
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxd2...
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxd2...
Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows (Official Audio)
YouTube video by LeonardCohenVEVO
m.youtube.com
August 23, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxd2...
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxd2...
Not an accident and not a
surprise but still a travesty. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...
surprise but still a travesty. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...
Unnoticed Whistle-Blower Document Alarms Justice Department Veterans
www.nytimes.com
July 31, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Not an accident and not a
surprise but still a travesty. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...
surprise but still a travesty. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/u...
First Amendment forbids govt role in curtailing speech on basis of content. Settled law. Heritage can do whatever it wants but feds cannot lawfully follow them. When they do, up to SCOTUS to stop it. Yes, I know.
Just learned from LinkedIn that a Heritage Foundation affiliate is now FOIA-ing (or equivalent) instructors’ syllabi to go snooping for supposed illegal DEI at state universities. It’s hard to describe how far past McCarthyism we’re headed here.
July 27, 2025 at 10:27 PM
First Amendment forbids govt role in curtailing speech on basis of content. Settled law. Heritage can do whatever it wants but feds cannot lawfully follow them. When they do, up to SCOTUS to stop it. Yes, I know.
E pur si muove. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/c...
E.P.A. Is Said to Draft a Plan to End Its Ability to Fight Climate Change
www.nytimes.com
July 23, 2025 at 10:27 AM
E pur si muove. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/c...
Working on a piece about ICE's new budget, mission, and potential capacities. It's not a pretty picture and it has implications that go well beyond what will happen to people deemed to be illegal immigrants.
July 19, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Working on a piece about ICE's new budget, mission, and potential capacities. It's not a pretty picture and it has implications that go well beyond what will happen to people deemed to be illegal immigrants.
Reposted by Jonathan M. Winer
Democrats walked out of a committee vote Thursday to advance the judicial nomination of Emil Bove as Sen. Cory Booker accused the committee chairman of rushing the vote without following Senate rules.
July 17, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Democrats walked out of a committee vote Thursday to advance the judicial nomination of Emil Bove as Sen. Cory Booker accused the committee chairman of rushing the vote without following Senate rules.
The Gender Gap That Ate the Democrats www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/o...
Opinion | The Gender Gap That Ate the Democrats
www.nytimes.com
July 8, 2025 at 7:17 PM
The Gender Gap That Ate the Democrats www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/o...
The Presidential planning for the use of emergency powers to militarize domestic law enforcement - and not just in Los Angeles. washingtonspectator.org/searching-fo...
Searching for the Trigger | Washington Spectator
Trump has begun planning to invoke the Insurrection Act. Here’s how he could turn America’s military into a new domestic nationwide policing force. On June 7, 2025, President Donald J.
washingtonspectator.org
June 24, 2025 at 5:50 PM
The Presidential planning for the use of emergency powers to militarize domestic law enforcement - and not just in Los Angeles. washingtonspectator.org/searching-fo...
Why restraint on rhetoric about #Iran would make us safer and why threats do not. www.mei.edu/blog/iran-us...
On Iran, US restraint could reduce risks
President Donald Trump threatens Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. But measured language and disciplined policy can help prevent escalation and protect American interests.
www.mei.edu
June 18, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Why restraint on rhetoric about #Iran would make us safer and why threats do not. www.mei.edu/blog/iran-us...
Reposted by Jonathan M. Winer
Just so we understand what this is and what it isn't but also knowing all of it is Trump's precursor to go after a bigger target: Elections 2026.
June 8, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Just so we understand what this is and what it isn't but also knowing all of it is Trump's precursor to go after a bigger target: Elections 2026.
In 1954, Woody Guthrie wrote a song called "Old Man Trump." The lyrics start out like this: "I suppose that Old Man Trump knows just how much racial hate/He stirred up in that bloodpot of human hearts." en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man... Yes, that Old Man Trump, Fred Trump. Some legacy he created.
Old Man Trump - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
June 8, 2025 at 3:44 PM
In 1954, Woody Guthrie wrote a song called "Old Man Trump." The lyrics start out like this: "I suppose that Old Man Trump knows just how much racial hate/He stirred up in that bloodpot of human hearts." en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man... Yes, that Old Man Trump, Fred Trump. Some legacy he created.
Update on the continuation of the wrecking balls. www.wired.com/story/big-ba... ‘Big Balls’ Is Officially a Full-Time Government Employee | WIRED @steadystatevets.bsky.social
‘Big Balls’ Is Officially a Full-Time Government Employee
The first wave of DOGE staffers was supposed to be gone after 130 days. Instead, core members of the team have signed on for the long haul.
www.wired.com
June 6, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Update on the continuation of the wrecking balls. www.wired.com/story/big-ba... ‘Big Balls’ Is Officially a Full-Time Government Employee | WIRED @steadystatevets.bsky.social
The principle Trump Administration follows to grab & disappear people is claim they have this power with no judicial process. For now, the policy covers only people they say have violated US immigration laws. But the policy can change- broadening threat they can later use this against any of us.
June 4, 2025 at 5:44 AM
The principle Trump Administration follows to grab & disappear people is claim they have this power with no judicial process. For now, the policy covers only people they say have violated US immigration laws. But the policy can change- broadening threat they can later use this against any of us.
For now #ICE #raids supposedly limited to people assessed to be illegal immigrants. But with no due
process, anyone can be grabbed by anonymous men (and women) in masks and spirited away to anywhere. Including anyone of us. This is not just illegal
and unconstitutional. It’s a threat
to us all.
process, anyone can be grabbed by anonymous men (and women) in masks and spirited away to anywhere. Including anyone of us. This is not just illegal
and unconstitutional. It’s a threat
to us all.
📢 Call to Action: Demand Accountability for Warrantless ICE Raids
Recent reports reveal that masked, plainclothes ICE agents have been conducting warrantless arrests at courthouses and public spaces, raising serious constitutional concerns.
This pattern of enforcement, where agents obscure...
1/3
Recent reports reveal that masked, plainclothes ICE agents have been conducting warrantless arrests at courthouses and public spaces, raising serious constitutional concerns.
This pattern of enforcement, where agents obscure...
1/3
May 29, 2025 at 5:53 PM