Dan Maurer
@danmaurerlawprof.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Law, Ohio Northern University; retired Army LTC & Judge Advocate; infrequent painter/always drinking coffee; CIV-MIL REL., CRIM LAW, NAT’L SEC’Y LAW, LOAC; faculty bio:
https://www.onu.edu/directory/dan-maurer;
https://www.onu.edu/directory/dan-maurer;
reminding soldiers that they have a legal and professional duty to not obey #ILLEGALorders is not a crime…not under the UCMJ, not under Title 18…. And #hegseth KNOWs this. Or he’s being fed horseshit by people who aren’t lawyers, or by lawyers with no experience in military justice or prosecution.
November 24, 2025 at 7:01 PM
reminding soldiers that they have a legal and professional duty to not obey #ILLEGALorders is not a crime…not under the UCMJ, not under Title 18…. And #hegseth KNOWs this. Or he’s being fed horseshit by people who aren’t lawyers, or by lawyers with no experience in military justice or prosecution.
Some thoughts here: www.linkedin.com/posts/daniel...
Trump Claims the Power to Summarily Kill Suspected Drug Smugglers | Daniel Maurer
Based on the facts presented by the Adminstration, the military was ordered by the President to commit murder. Full stop. And they did. An order to murder is a patently unlawful one, and therefore sh...
www.linkedin.com
September 5, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Some thoughts here: www.linkedin.com/posts/daniel...
Journalists @nytimes.com @washingtonpost.com @wsj.com @npr.org @reuters.com: ask DOJ and DOD what the “rules for the use of force” are for the 800 NG troops sent to police D.C. Ask why they’re not publicly releasing those rules. If they tell you it’s classified, ask why
apple.news/AblL2RAAUQ2u...
apple.news/AblL2RAAUQ2u...
Trump to Deploy National Guard to D.C., Take Over City’s Police Department — The Wall Street Journal
‘We’re going to take our capital back,’ Trump said
apple.news
August 11, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Journalists @nytimes.com @washingtonpost.com @wsj.com @npr.org @reuters.com: ask DOJ and DOD what the “rules for the use of force” are for the 800 NG troops sent to police D.C. Ask why they’re not publicly releasing those rules. If they tell you it’s classified, ask why
apple.news/AblL2RAAUQ2u...
apple.news/AblL2RAAUQ2u...
Ironically, it’s the very #JAGs (from the FL Nat’l Guard) who will be used as #immigration judges to speed up the process that should know that their being used in this way to enforce the federal immigration law very likely violates the #possecommitatus act.
amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
Trump OKs using National Guard as immigration judges at Florida detention center
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would approve Florida’s plan to expedite deportations by having qualified National Guard members work as immigration judges.
amp.miamiherald.com
July 2, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Ironically, it’s the very #JAGs (from the FL Nat’l Guard) who will be used as #immigration judges to speed up the process that should know that their being used in this way to enforce the federal immigration law very likely violates the #possecommitatus act.
amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
@aoc.bsky.social
I “designed” this shirt as a micro-protest…I wear it out because I don’t look like Trump’s stereotypical “leftist”— I’m a middle-aged white man, 22-year Army vet, lawyer, married with 3 kids—who may be a tinge embarrassed when out with me wearing it 😂. Keep up the good work, AOC!
I “designed” this shirt as a micro-protest…I wear it out because I don’t look like Trump’s stereotypical “leftist”— I’m a middle-aged white man, 22-year Army vet, lawyer, married with 3 kids—who may be a tinge embarrassed when out with me wearing it 😂. Keep up the good work, AOC!
June 25, 2025 at 9:54 PM
@aoc.bsky.social
I “designed” this shirt as a micro-protest…I wear it out because I don’t look like Trump’s stereotypical “leftist”— I’m a middle-aged white man, 22-year Army vet, lawyer, married with 3 kids—who may be a tinge embarrassed when out with me wearing it 😂. Keep up the good work, AOC!
I “designed” this shirt as a micro-protest…I wear it out because I don’t look like Trump’s stereotypical “leftist”— I’m a middle-aged white man, 22-year Army vet, lawyer, married with 3 kids—who may be a tinge embarrassed when out with me wearing it 😂. Keep up the good work, AOC!
#rebellion #insurrection #losangeles #nationalguard #trump #newsom
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/defi...
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/defi...
Defining ‘Rebellion’ in 10 U.S.C. § 12406 and the Insurrection Act
Congress has a duty to precisely define the conditions that trigger a president’s emergency use of the military on American soil.
www.lawfaremedia.org
June 24, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Journalists, ask these 2 questions of Trump and Hegseth:
(1) what is your domestic legal authority to strike Iran?
(2) what is your basis under international law given Art 2(4) and Art 51 of the UN Charter?
If they can’t or won’t answer, that is a story in itself
#iran
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
(1) what is your domestic legal authority to strike Iran?
(2) what is your basis under international law given Art 2(4) and Art 51 of the UN Charter?
If they can’t or won’t answer, that is a story in itself
#iran
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
U.S. Bombs Iran Live Updates: Trump Says Iran's Nuclear Sites "Completely and Totally Obliterated" in Speech
President adds three nuclear sites in Iran were attacked
www.wsj.com
June 22, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Journalists, ask these 2 questions of Trump and Hegseth:
(1) what is your domestic legal authority to strike Iran?
(2) what is your basis under international law given Art 2(4) and Art 51 of the UN Charter?
If they can’t or won’t answer, that is a story in itself
#iran
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
(1) what is your domestic legal authority to strike Iran?
(2) what is your basis under international law given Art 2(4) and Art 51 of the UN Charter?
If they can’t or won’t answer, that is a story in itself
#iran
www.wsj.com/livecoverage...
I’ve just posted a long-overdue review of my colleague Heidi Urben’s book on partisanship in the Army and its impact on American civil-military relations.
open.substack.com/pub/dmaurer/...
open.substack.com/pub/dmaurer/...
Rational National Security: a Review of Heidi A. Urben's "Party, Politics, and the Post-9/11 Army"
A book review long overdue!
open.substack.com
May 22, 2025 at 11:01 PM
I’ve just posted a long-overdue review of my colleague Heidi Urben’s book on partisanship in the Army and its impact on American civil-military relations.
open.substack.com/pub/dmaurer/...
open.substack.com/pub/dmaurer/...
I was able to talk with this journalist from NPR for bit last week about the domestic deployment of troops to the border’s new “military installation” perfoming, in effect, law enforcement functions in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act
www.npr.org/2025/05/06/g...
www.npr.org/2025/05/06/g...
Trump expands military use at the southern border. Are there legal limits?
The Posse Comitatus Act restricts using federal troops in civilian law enforcement. Exceptions exist, but Trump's crackdown on immigration is shaping up to be a major test for the law.
www.npr.org
May 6, 2025 at 2:07 PM
I was able to talk with this journalist from NPR for bit last week about the domestic deployment of troops to the border’s new “military installation” perfoming, in effect, law enforcement functions in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act
www.npr.org/2025/05/06/g...
www.npr.org/2025/05/06/g...
I've rezoned my Substack newsletter into 3 "neighborhoods" - each with a distinctive subject area focus and style: "Civil Civics" (free), "Courting the Law" (free), and a regularly recurring (weekly) "Rational National Security" (for paid subscribers).
dmaurer.substack.com/p/introducin...
dmaurer.substack.com/p/introducin...
Introducing: three "neighborhoods"
Politics by Other Means will have 3 columns: "Civil Civics" (free to all), "Rational National Security" (paid subscribers), and "Courting the Law" (free)
dmaurer.substack.com
March 29, 2025 at 8:53 PM
I've rezoned my Substack newsletter into 3 "neighborhoods" - each with a distinctive subject area focus and style: "Civil Civics" (free), "Courting the Law" (free), and a regularly recurring (weekly) "Rational National Security" (for paid subscribers).
dmaurer.substack.com/p/introducin...
dmaurer.substack.com/p/introducin...
@washingtonpost.com @nytimes.com the DoD (inadvertently) just acknowledged that LGBTQ+ is an “immutable characteristic” along with one’s race.
www.defense.gov/News/Release...
www.defense.gov/News/Release...
Identity Months Dead at DoD
Guidance from the Secretary of Defense: going forward, DOD components and military departments will not use official resources to host celebrations or events related to cultural awareness months.
www.defense.gov
February 20, 2025 at 1:02 AM
@washingtonpost.com @nytimes.com the DoD (inadvertently) just acknowledged that LGBTQ+ is an “immutable characteristic” along with one’s race.
www.defense.gov/News/Release...
www.defense.gov/News/Release...
Is anybody keeping up a running “impeachable offense” list? Not that a majority of the current House will vote for articles of impeachment now, but the midterms will be here before we know it….
February 14, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Is anybody keeping up a running “impeachable offense” list? Not that a majority of the current House will vote for articles of impeachment now, but the midterms will be here before we know it….
“The Constitution did not create a President in the king’s image but envisioned an exec. regularly checked & balanced by other authorities. Our Founders knew from hard experience the ‘intolerable abuses’ that flow from unchecked executive power.”
-Gorsuch, J., dissenting in US v. Zubaydah (2022)
-Gorsuch, J., dissenting in US v. Zubaydah (2022)
February 12, 2025 at 6:49 PM
“The Constitution did not create a President in the king’s image but envisioned an exec. regularly checked & balanced by other authorities. Our Founders knew from hard experience the ‘intolerable abuses’ that flow from unchecked executive power.”
-Gorsuch, J., dissenting in US v. Zubaydah (2022)
-Gorsuch, J., dissenting in US v. Zubaydah (2022)
Republican Sen. Murkowski opposes Hegseth for Defense Secretary - The Wall Street Journal
Good. his lack of experience @ strategic nat’l security policy-making & managing large orgs, & disrespect for basic rule of law protections against abusive, illegal use of force are good grounds for voting no
Good. his lack of experience @ strategic nat’l security policy-making & managing large orgs, & disrespect for basic rule of law protections against abusive, illegal use of force are good grounds for voting no
January 23, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Republican Sen. Murkowski opposes Hegseth for Defense Secretary - The Wall Street Journal
Good. his lack of experience @ strategic nat’l security policy-making & managing large orgs, & disrespect for basic rule of law protections against abusive, illegal use of force are good grounds for voting no
Good. his lack of experience @ strategic nat’l security policy-making & managing large orgs, & disrespect for basic rule of law protections against abusive, illegal use of force are good grounds for voting no
No. An “invasion” demanding military responses and military security does not include unlawful migration, drug or human trafficking. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Clarifying The Military's Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States – The White House
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.
www.whitehouse.gov
January 21, 2025 at 3:02 AM
No. An “invasion” demanding military responses and military security does not include unlawful migration, drug or human trafficking. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
For Sen. Reed’s unfortunately less-than-thorough questions of Hegseth re: law of war, rules of engagement, and the role of military lawyers, go to about 1 hour 15 minutes into the hearing. Missed opportunity to call out misleading statements and BS.
www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-...
www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-...
To conduct a confirmation hearing on the expected nomination of Mr. Peter B. Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense | United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
www.armed-services.senate.gov
January 14, 2025 at 11:50 PM
For Sen. Reed’s unfortunately less-than-thorough questions of Hegseth re: law of war, rules of engagement, and the role of military lawyers, go to about 1 hour 15 minutes into the hearing. Missed opportunity to call out misleading statements and BS.
www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-...
www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-...
