John McKenzie
@jwmckenzie.bsky.social
Father. Trial lawyer. Curious. Persistent. Posts are not legal advice. All views are mine alone.
Other countries do not do this all the time. But suppose they did. That logic would justify every war crime because other countries violate the laws of war all the time.
“violent fantasy became an obsession, according to former Trump administration officials…“Fucking kill them all,” Trump would say. “An eye for an eye.” Other times he’d snap at his staff: “You just got to kill these people…Other countries do it all the time.” www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Other countries do not do this all the time. But suppose they did. That logic would justify every war crime because other countries violate the laws of war all the time.
"[I]n its substance being clearly illegal, so that a man of ordinary sense and understanding would know as soon as he heard the order read or given that such order was illegal, would afford a private no protection for a crime committed under such order."
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November 28, 2025 at 9:49 PM
"[I]n its substance being clearly illegal, so that a man of ordinary sense and understanding would know as soon as he heard the order read or given that such order was illegal, would afford a private no protection for a crime committed under such order."
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This is cold-blooded homicide. Suppose for a moment that the initial strike had a lawful military objective. The follow-on strike to kill people clinging to the wreckage did not. Killing them did not further any military objective, much less an objective proportional to the deaths. It’s just murder.
This would be a war crime even if there were an actual war and these people were actual combatants, which there isn't and they weren't.
It's unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...
It's unquestionably an unlawful homicide under any form of law you wish to apply: military or civilian, domestic or international, federal or state. ...
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 9:30 PM
This is cold-blooded homicide. Suppose for a moment that the initial strike had a lawful military objective. The follow-on strike to kill people clinging to the wreckage did not. Killing them did not further any military objective, much less an objective proportional to the deaths. It’s just murder.
Reposted by John McKenzie
Still stuck on how some people just said remember: crime is illegal in a video and the president and the ruling party’s response was to announce many times that the river of blood will flow if we hear this heresy once more
November 28, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Still stuck on how some people just said remember: crime is illegal in a video and the president and the ruling party’s response was to announce many times that the river of blood will flow if we hear this heresy once more
Unserious cartoonish pantomime villains can also kill in cold blood.
Hegseth is a war criminal and I think it doesn’t get the attention it deserves because he’s also stupid and it’s hard to reconcile the gravity of his crimes with his clownish persona www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Unserious cartoonish pantomime villains can also kill in cold blood.
Reposted by John McKenzie
Abraham Lincoln, 1855.
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...
![I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor or degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:egd33s7iuqsmwlwab6mbtrqi/bafkreiaaicjid4jg3oongeah73ukqvwsqv4vwbp75q4f755nldtcfermhi@jpeg)
November 28, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Abraham Lincoln, 1855.
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...
Reposted by John McKenzie
“President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has fallen five percentage points to 36%, the lowest of his second term, while disapproval has risen to 60%.”
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
Trump's Approval Rating Drops to 36%, New Second-Term Low
President Donald Trump's job approval rating has slipped to a new second-term low point and is approaching his all-time low of 34%.
news.gallup.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:36 PM
“President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has fallen five percentage points to 36%, the lowest of his second term, while disapproval has risen to 60%.”
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
news.gallup.com/poll/699221/...
Reposted by John McKenzie
"My poll numbers have never been better."
November 28, 2025 at 3:53 PM
"My poll numbers have never been better."
Reposted by John McKenzie
“The National Guard is stranded somewhere on this battlefield of partisan politics. They are not ready for this arena, and we should never have asked them to be. Politics is not a military mission.” @juliettekayyem.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
A Terrible and Avoidable Tragedy in D.C.
Trump was warned that members of the military could be attacked.
www.theatlantic.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:39 PM
“The National Guard is stranded somewhere on this battlefield of partisan politics. They are not ready for this arena, and we should never have asked them to be. Politics is not a military mission.” @juliettekayyem.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
The size Trump proposes (90,000 sq ft) for the ballroom is almost the size of an ordinary Wal-mart (105,000 sq ft).
Even the architect Trump hired to build his massive addition to the White House objects to the president's vision. The two have argued about the size of the 90,000-sq-foot project that would dwarf the mansion. @jonathanreports.bsky.social @ddiamond.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Trump wants a bigger White House ballroom. His architect disagrees.
The president and James McCrery had argued in recent weeks over the project’s size, with Trump pushing him to expand the ballroom.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:36 PM
The size Trump proposes (90,000 sq ft) for the ballroom is almost the size of an ordinary Wal-mart (105,000 sq ft).
Cornered. Fevered. Rabid.
Trump: “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries … denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.“
November 28, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Cornered. Fevered. Rabid.
20 years old. Her entire life ahead of her. Killed for no reason at all. Tragic.
20 year-old National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom has died from her gunshot wounds. May she rest in peace.
November 28, 2025 at 2:18 AM
20 years old. Her entire life ahead of her. Killed for no reason at all. Tragic.
When he gets boxed in on a question, he gratuitously insults the questioner. That’s his “pivot.” That’s his move.
Q: Officials say the suspect in the DC shooting was vetted & it came up clean
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
TRUMP: He went cuckoo. He went nuts. There was no vetting
Q: Actually, your DOJ IG says there was thorough vetting of Afghans. So why blame Biden?
TRUMP: You're just asking questions because you're a stupid person
November 28, 2025 at 2:16 AM
When he gets boxed in on a question, he gratuitously insults the questioner. That’s his “pivot.” That’s his move.
Reposted by John McKenzie
A member of the FBI threatened Thomas Massie's staff with criminal investigations, if he didn't "straighten up and play ball".
November 27, 2025 at 2:09 AM
A member of the FBI threatened Thomas Massie's staff with criminal investigations, if he didn't "straighten up and play ball".
She’s trying to resurrect the discredited and absurd “independent state legislature” theory.
NEW: Justice Ziegler has corrected her misquotation of Moore v. Harper. However, her new summary of the Supreme Court's decision in Moore does not, in my view, accurately reflect the holding. The sentence she quotes doesn't match the "exceedingly limited" paraphrase. www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/D...
November 27, 2025 at 12:25 AM
She’s trying to resurrect the discredited and absurd “independent state legislature” theory.
Reposted by John McKenzie
The President doesn't want you standing up and speaking out against him, so he's coming after me to intimidate all of us.
But I won't back down — and neither should you.
But I won't back down — and neither should you.
November 26, 2025 at 7:51 PM
The President doesn't want you standing up and speaking out against him, so he's coming after me to intimidate all of us.
But I won't back down — and neither should you.
But I won't back down — and neither should you.
Reposted by John McKenzie
Definitely an overlooked point: The authoritarian far right, including its white nationalist iterations, are self-consciously global in scope and liberals need to adapt to that:
The movement to destroy liberal democracy is international, and so must be its defense
NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
November 25, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Definitely an overlooked point: The authoritarian far right, including its white nationalist iterations, are self-consciously global in scope and liberals need to adapt to that:
Turkey may struggle to get a pardon this year unless it donated to a Trump cause or participated in January 6.
November 25, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Turkey may struggle to get a pardon this year unless it donated to a Trump cause or participated in January 6.
Unchastened by the Comey and James dismissals, it looks like federal law enforcement may be going for a second helping.
🚨BREAKING: The FBI has requested interviews with a group of Democratic lawmakers who reminded U.S. military and intelligence service members in a video last week that they are obligated to refuse illegal orders. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
FBI Investigating Dems Who Warned Military of Unlawful Orders
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Unchastened by the Comey and James dismissals, it looks like federal law enforcement may be going for a second helping.
Reposted by John McKenzie
Trump is incredibly corrupt.
November 25, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Trump is incredibly corrupt.
Senator Kelly essentially quotes the UCMJ. Hegseth’s position is that quoting the UCMJ is a violation of the UCMJ.
Senator Kelly’s remarks in the video are “a 100% accurate representation of what the law says."
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
“No American citizen should have to deal with this type of preposterous investigation.”
- Professor Eugene Fidell, leading military justice expert in Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/politics/mar...
Pentagon Investigates Misconduct Allegations Against Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly
The review comes after Kelly, a retired Navy captain, appeared in a video with other lawmakers telling military members not to obey unlawful orders.
www.wsj.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Senator Kelly essentially quotes the UCMJ. Hegseth’s position is that quoting the UCMJ is a violation of the UCMJ.
Is it an offense under the UCMJ to quote the UCMJ in a video? We may be about to find out. See 892. Art. 92 of the UCMJ (punishing violations of “any lawful” order or regulation; violations of lawless orders are not punished!)
November 24, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Is it an offense under the UCMJ to quote the UCMJ in a video? We may be about to find out. See 892. Art. 92 of the UCMJ (punishing violations of “any lawful” order or regulation; violations of lawless orders are not punished!)
I did not foresee Trump publishing a retraction of his personalist military theory so swiftly, but the man can be unpredictable.
Trump didn’t read before posting:
“OUR AMERICAN CODE OF MILITARY OBEDIENCE REQUIRES THAT, SHOULD ORDERS AND THE LAW EVER CONFLICT, OUR OFFICERS MUST OBEY THE LAW.”
“OUR AMERICAN CODE OF MILITARY OBEDIENCE REQUIRES THAT, SHOULD ORDERS AND THE LAW EVER CONFLICT, OUR OFFICERS MUST OBEY THE LAW.”
November 24, 2025 at 1:40 AM
I did not foresee Trump publishing a retraction of his personalist military theory so swiftly, but the man can be unpredictable.
Those of us lucky enough to have good health now are just temporarily well. We will be unwell, eventually. What will being unwell look like? A lot of that depends on decisions made decades beforehand. What will our future selves think about our decisions today?
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
www.newyorker.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Those of us lucky enough to have good health now are just temporarily well. We will be unwell, eventually. What will being unwell look like? A lot of that depends on decisions made decades beforehand. What will our future selves think about our decisions today?
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
There has been no greater assault on the Constitution in my lifetime than January 6. He obviously rejects constitutional and other lawful restraints on his power. He understands very well that frontline soldiers and law enforcement refusing lawless orders is a problem for him.
Mark Kelly: "The message he sent a couple days ago was he declared that loyalty to the Constitution is now punishable by death. Those are serious words coming from the president. He's trying to intimidate us. But I'm not going to be intimidated."
November 23, 2025 at 3:55 PM
There has been no greater assault on the Constitution in my lifetime than January 6. He obviously rejects constitutional and other lawful restraints on his power. He understands very well that frontline soldiers and law enforcement refusing lawless orders is a problem for him.