With a Congress willing to exercise its role in checks and balances, a lot will change. We'll be covering it @justsecurity.org. Here's one: What is the power of Congress to bring lawsuits where nobody else has standing to sue? New essay this morning by @emorylaw.bsky.social Prof Jonathan Nash

Two Paths to Congressional Litigation Against the Executive Branch

An expert examines whether Congress has standing to pursue relief against the executive branch in federal court.

justsecurity.org

This is a brilliant opening/contribution to an important national conversation. Accountability Will Come – What Should It Look Like for the Department of Defense? I highly recommend this essay by Frank Kendall, former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force.

What Should Accountability Look Like for the Department of Defense?

Failing to hold leaders accountable for the abuses of the Trump administration's Pentagon would invite future officials to repeat them.

justsecurity.org

I wrote about what last night means for #SCOTUS, including whether Thomas or Alito will retire during the lame duck (no); whether the Court will now moderate its behavior (it *needs* to); and the consequences for the Court and the country if the justices continue to act as if they are above it all:

261. The Midterms and the Courts, Part I

John Roberts is in a similar position to Owen Roberts in December 1936. Whether he’ll react the same way could say a lot about the Supreme Court’s future.

stevevladeck.com

'In 1860, an enslaved man named Sheppard Peek was listed among the possessions of William Peek, a white man in Crawfordville. His value was placed at $1,400. More than a century and a half later, Sheppard’s great-great-granddaughter, Keisha Lance Bottoms, was elected governor of Georgia.'

Keisha Lance Bottoms and the long road from Crawfordville to Governor’s Mansion

More than 160 years after her ancestors were enslaved in Georgia, the former Atlanta mayor has made history as the first Black woman elected governor.

ajc.com

Leading First Amendment scholars back Roth v Trump, our challenge to Trump’s effort to purge the White House press corps of journalists who decline to describe the world in his terms. knightcolumbia.org/documents/7v...

Amicus Brief of First Amendment Scholars in Support of Plaintiffs

knightcolumbia.org

⚡️️️️ EU responds to Trump diesel deal with new Russia energy sanctions. A key focus of the latest proposed sanctions listings is Russia's oil processing, refining, and exporting capacity, with 31 listings spanning the breadth of Russia, from St. Petersburg to Sakhalin.

EU responds to Trump diesel deal with new Russia energy sanctions

A key focus of the latest proposed sanctions listings is Russia's oil processing, refining, and exporting capacity, with 31 listings spanning the breadth of Russia, from St. Petersburg to Sakhalin.

kyivindependent.com

Senior intelligence and election oversight lawmakers want social media companies and AI developers to strengthen safeguards against false voting information, foreign influence campaigns and deceptive AI content: www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

Democrats warn tech firms of election security ‘backsliding’ ahead of midterms

Senior intelligence and election oversight lawmakers want social media companies and AI developers to strengthen safeguards against false voting information, foreign influence campaigns and deceptive ...

nextgov.com

👇

Maggie Miller@maggiemiller.bsky.social · 3w ago

Russia is using online influence campaigns to target Democrats running for office, and any candidates largely supportive of Ukraine, @jahimes.bsky.social and @markwarner.bsky.social told reporters today. Here we go again. More here: www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

A recent Anthropic Threat Intelligence report "gives direct evidence that generative AI is being incorporated into the machinery of cross-border repression, enabling authoritarian governments and their proxies to" identify, monitor, and target diaspora and exiled dissidents around the world.

Just Security@justsecurity.org · last mo.

Generative AI is being incorporated into the machinery of transnational repression. @citizenlab.ca's @katepundyk.bsky.social, @sanstis.bsky.social and @mmichae1sen.bsky.social on how frontier AI companies can curb the misuse of their technology by authoritarian governments:

The US "has long insisted that objects sustaining an enemy’s war effort are lawful targets." So Russia’s diesel facilities would be legit military targets for Ukraine. By easing sanctions on Russia's diesel, the US may "bear responsibility for aiding or assisting Russia’s unlawful use of force."

Just Security@justsecurity.org · 4w ago

@mikeschmitt.bsky.social and @rgoodlaw.bsky.social on the international law implications of the Trump administration's diesel agreement with Russia:

The state may pronounce a death sentence, but someone else must live with carrying it out. The U.S. government has a special responsibility to not impose avoidable harm to the service members who will carry out Nidal Hasan's execution, writes @hettiealiano.bsky.social:

The Moral Cost of Killing on Command

The U.S. government has a special responsibility to not impose avoidable harm to those who will carry out Nidal Hasan's execution.

justsecurity.org

2/ The #GTMODispatches are for you if you’re interested in: - The rule of law - Justice and finality for the victims of 9/11 & USS Cole bombing - How the judges & lawyers handle defendants who were tortured by the US government - How the military court - on a base in #Cuba - operates

1/ @rgoodlaw.bsky.social & I are honored to announce that veteran, multi-award winning reporter @carolrosenbergfeed.bsky.social will be publishing Dispatches from Guantanamo with us at @justsecurity.org –regular updates as the capital trials in the military commissions get underway. #GTMODispatches

Guantánamo Dispatch: The USS Cole Case Edges Toward Trial

Carol Rosenberg reports from Guantánamo Bay on the upcoming pre-trial hearing in the USS Cole bombing case.

justsecurity.org

3/ As I wrote today, we can still choose to turn the page on this era. Crises, including America's rule of law crisis today, provide opportunities for change, but changing for the better is not an inevitable default. We the people have to work to create the new normal we want to inhabit:

2/ The collection includes deeply personal reflections and incisive analysis on how the 9/11 era shapes our current era Must reads: the powerful Afghan voices - Hanifa Girowal (women's rights advocate) - Farid Hamidi (former AG of Afghanistan) - Nasir A. Andisha (Afghan diplomat in Geneva)

9/11 Then and Now: How It Shapes Us 25 Years On

How the September 11 attacks, and the U.S. response that followed, changed the world and the way we approach the moment we are in today.

justsecurity.org

1/ The 22 essays collected here @justsecurity.org are a powerful reminder of the gravity of what was lost on 9/11, the opportunities that followed, and the many ways those opportunities were squandered at home and abroad. www.justsecurity.org/156339/9-11-...

9/11 Then and Now: How It Shapes Us 25 Years On

How the September 11 attacks, and the U.S. response that followed, changed the world and the way we approach the moment we are in today.

justsecurity.org

New statement from the UN CoI on Syria: The Commission calls the closure of Roj Camp “long-overdue” and urges states of nationality to support repatriation and rehabilitation without further delay. www.ohchr.org/en/statement...

Statement by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic accompanying its Oral Update to the 63rd Session of the Human Rights Council

Mr. President, Excellencies,

ohchr.org

Shots fired across the Potomac washingtonsun.com/about-us/pre...

The American Journalism Project releases its 2026 Impact Report, which it says tells a clear story: Nonprofit local news has moved beyond proof of concept and has established itself as a pillar of the revitalization of local news. theajp.org/wp-content/u...

Just Security and @rcls-nyu.bsky.social asked experts how 9/11 shaped their path and how it continues to shape us a quarter century later. With new contributions from Farid Hamidi, Geoffrey Corn, Nasir A. Andisha, @jameeljaffer.bsky.social, @bechamilton.bsky.social, and @scott-roehm.bsky.social:

9/11 Then and Now: How it Shapes Us 25 Years On

How the September 11 attacks, and the U.S. response that followed, changed the world and the way we approach the moment we are in today.

justsecurity.org

Ratko Mladic's funeral illustrates that the image of him as a military hero continues to compete with the judicially established record of his responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. From Ehlimana Memisevic:

Ratko Mladić Is Dead, Yet Legions Mourn This “Butcher of Bosnia” and Celebrate His Crimes

Thousands mourned Ratko Mladić at his funeral in Belgrade despite his responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

justsecurity.org

The Washington Sun rises today. I hope you’ll join our orbit. The Sun aims to do nothing less than reinvent the newspaper for the digital age — and to prove that there is a market in the capital region for local news and sports coverage. washingtonsun.com/perspectives...

Dana Milbank: The Washington Sun Rises Today. I Hope You’ll Join Our Orbit.

My boss, Tim Grieve, posted a photo on X last week of a shipment of office chairs that had just arrived at the Arlington, Virginia, headquarters of our new publication, The Washington Sun. “It's fun t...

washingtonsun.com

New @apstylebook.com guidance: "Lake Ontario has carried that name for more than 400 years. Refer to it by its original name. If it is relevant to the story, acknowledge and explain the name Trump has chosen."

I wrote about the courts and the "war on terror"--"a bleak landscape of judicial abdication, with the courts almost invariably placing national security policies beyond the reach of the law and human rights victims outside the sphere of judicial protection" www.thenation.com/article/worl...

See No Evil

American courts and the War on Terror.

thenation.com

[1/] On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of #Ukraine, Just Security offers expert analysis spanning law, diplomacy, humanitarian policy, and more, from leading Ukrainian and international authors. www.justsecurity.org/tag/russia-u...

1/ Trump's War Powers Report to Congress on the #Venezuela strikes and seizure of #Maduro is in. I've read/coded every WPR report and used to work on them in the White House. (See this searchable database & graphics warpowers.lawandsecurity.org/%F0%9F%91%87) Here's what stands out about this one🧵:

Tess Bridgeman@tessbridgeman.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Reminder for Congress: The War Powers Resolution's 60 day clock is ticking today, & the WPR report to Congress is due. Note: - There's no "we're calling this law enforcement" exception to the WPR - Bombing another country and forcibly abducting its president in a military raid is "hostilities"

[1/2] Don't miss our 2025 end-of-year book recs from the JS community. Featuring novels and non-fiction by @davidenrich.bsky.social @tim-weiner.bsky.social @philippesands.bsky.social @realrussbaker.bsky.social @shaunwalker7.bsky.social @milleridriss.bsky.social www.justsecurity.org/126111/just-...

The Just Security 2025 Year-End Book Recommendations

Just Security editors recommend books they read this year, including those that illuminated world issues and brought joy into their 2025.

justsecurity.org

(1/4) Catch up on our recent analysis: • U.S. strikes / Venezuela • Book recommendations • Ethiopia • Trump executive actions • Supreme Court • Economic diplomacy • Civil society • Emerging technologies www.justsecurity.org/125922/diges...

Digest of Recent Articles on Just Security (Dec. 1-5, 2025)

U.S. strikes / Venezuela • Book recommendations • Ethiopia • Trump executive actions • Supreme Court • Economic diplomacy • Civil society • Emerging technologies

justsecurity.org

I believe folks know the important work we're doing at @justsecurity.org, especially in these challenging times. But we made this short video as a reminder! We really need your support this #GivingTuesday. For tax-deductible gifts: justsecurity.org/donate/

"Vladimir Putin Won’t Win on the Battlefield" "Since January, the Russian military’s territorial gains total nearly 1,900 square miles—or 0.8% of Ukraine, writes Mick Ryan." www.wsj.com/opinion/vlad...

Opinion | Vladimir Putin Won’t Win on the Battlefield

Since January, the Russian military’s territorial gains total nearly 1,900 square miles—or 0.8% of Ukraine, writes Mick Ryan.

wsj.com