Khanna told me that he was discussing next steps with Massie and others on the oversight committee, which may include contempt of Congress or articles of impeachment for Bondi and Blanche.
“We’re exploring all options—including impeachment,” Khanna said. “They’re delusional if they think this is going to go away.”
(…)
I explain what is missing and what the survivors and their lawyers are still expecting to be released.
(3) DECLASSIFICATION TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall declassify, to the maximum extent possible, any information that the Attorney General would otherwise withhold or redact as classified information under this section.
(B) UNCLASSIFIED SUMMARY.—If the Attorney General determines that information described in subparagraph (A) may not be declassified and made available in a manner that protects the national security of the United States, including methods or sources related to national security, the Attorney General shall make publicly available an unclassified summary of the information.
WASHINGTON—Today, House Republicans (and sadly, one spineless Democrat) shamefully rejected Congressman McGovern‘s War Powers Resolution, which would have directed President Trump to cease all hostilities within or against Venezuela.
“I’m furious that cowardly lawmakers have once again surrendered Congress’ Constitutional responsibility on matters of war to a wannabe dictator in the White House,” said Ranking Member McGovern. “The Founders intentionally did not want any president to have unilateral power to start a war, much less one like Donald Trump, who campaigned on ending unnecessary foreign conflicts. He‘s now breaking that promise—and his weak, pathetic lackeys in Congress are letting him drag us into yet another endless war that no one except their billionaire buddies in Big Oil want.”
„As I said earlier today on this floor, during the debate on my War Powers Resolution to end this administration’s extrajudicial strikes on boats in the Western Hemisphere, those bombings are not about drugs. If the administration did want to stop drugs, Trump would not have pardoned the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, or Ross Ulbricht, who operated the Silk Road drug marketplace. He wouldn’t be seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Or threatening CIA operations, blockades, and ground strikes on Venezuela.
„It’s not about drugs, it’s about regime change, and it’s about oil. That’s not just me saying that. It’s Trump himself saying it. It’s President Trump’s Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, who said Trump wants to, and I quote, “keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.” And it relies on the magical thinking that military force can bring democracy in Venezuela or anywhere else.
„But his chief of staff also conceded, as any reasonable person with any knowledge of the constitution should, that if Trump, quote, “were to authorize some activity on land, then it’s war, then [we’d need] Congress.”
„On that, she’s right. Congress would need to pass an Authorization for the Use of Military Force if Trump wanted to put boots on the ground or conduct military strikes on Venezuela. And for that, Republicans in Congress would need to cast their vote on whether to commit U.S. armed forces to an open-ended conflict their constituents certainly do not want.
„Trump ran on ending forever wars, but now he’s forgotten what they are. What his own Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth characterized as, quote, “interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, and feckless nation building.” Yet with Venezuela, Trump is provoking a new war right in our backyard and threatening to destabilize an entire region.
“Americans do not want another Iraq. If we intensify hostilities in Venezuela, we have no idea what we’re walking into,” McGovern said. “At least George Bush had the decency to come to Congress for approval in 2002. Don’t the American people deserve that respect today?”
Bush in 2002 sought and received a formal authorization for his attack on Iraq. Without taking any similar steps, Trump has massed thousands of American service members in the Caribbean without formal approval.
The resolution was defeated 210-216, with seven lawmakers not voting. Two Republicans—Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky—voted in favor of the measure. Democratic Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez joined their GOP colleagues in voting down the proposal.
The second resolution, introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), would have directed Trump to “remove the use of United States armed forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization for use of military force.”
The resolution failed by a vote of 211-213, with nine members not voting. Republicans Bacon, Massie, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia voted “yes” on the legislation, while Cuellar voted against the proposal.
(December 15, 2025)
The House is expected to vote on Thursday on a bipartisan War Powers Resolution aimed at blocking President Trump from launching an attack on Venezuela amid a major US military buildup in the Caribbean and threats of a regime change war to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday voiced readiness to drop his country’s bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, but rejected the U.S. push for ceding territory to Russia as he held talks with U.S. envoys on ending the war.
Zelenskyy sat down with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
In a readout provided by Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy said that a „lot of progress was made“ during the meeting, without providing details.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Zelensky signaled that Ukraine seeks NATO-like security guarantees as part of a peace deal to prevent future Russian aggression, as full membership is opposed by the U.S. and other partners.
Ahead of the meeting, Axios reported, citing a senior U.S. official, that the Trump administration may be willing to provide Congress-approved NATO-like security guarantees.
(December 5, 2025)
“Intercepting purported drug boats is a law enforcement operation, subject to policing standards derived from international human rights law, which holds that all people have the rights to life and a fair trial and only allows states to use lethal force when an imminent threat to life exists and less extreme means, like capture, are insufficient.
“A state intentionally killing someone outside those circumstances is committing an extrajudicial execution, a form of murder, no matter what crime the person is alleged to have committed.”
Human rights organization Amnesty International is cautioning critics of the Trump administration’s boat-bombing spree against getting bogged down in the precise details of each individual strike if it means losing sight of the bigger picture.
Daphne Eviatar, director for security and human rights for Amnesty International USA, said on Friday that it would be a mistake to merely condemn the Trump administration for launching a double-tap strike aimed at killing shipwrecked survivors of an initial attack, because the entire campaign of bombing vessels based on the suspicion that they are carrying illegal narcotics is unlawful.
This report builds on Adalah’s position paper of 23 October 2024, which reviewed key bills at advanced stages of the legislative process, many of which were later enacted into law. The information contained in this report and the position paper also join Adalah’s online Discriminatory Laws Database in documenting about 100 Israeli laws that directly or indirectly discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
The laws examined in this report span multiple themes and violate numerous fundamental rights, including freedom of expression (FoE), protest, and thought; the right to citizenship and legal status; the rights to family life, equality, social benefits, and equality in the allocation of state resources; principles of criminal justice; and prisoners’ rights. While these violations are legitimized by the hostile public and political climate fueled by the war, their roots lie deep in Israel’s constitutional and political culture, which is based on the principle of Jewish ethno-national supremacy. These laws reinforce and entrench the ongoing pattern in Israeli law of creating and consolidating separate legal systems for Palestinians and Jews.
Notably, the trends identified in this report do not represent a fundamental shift in the state’s approach toward Palestinians. Even before the war, Adalah noted in its January 2023 position paper, which analyzed the current government’s guiding principles and coalition agreements, that the principles underpinning Israel’s system are based on Jewish ethno-national supremacy throughout all territory under its control. The government explicitly declared in its guiding principles, “The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right over all areas of the Land of Israel.” These statements were not unprecedented but rather a direct continuation of the logic underlying the Jewish Nation-State Law, passed by the Knesset on 19 July 2018, and of the constitutional framework established since the state’s founding, reflected in its explicit ethno-national identity as a “Jewish and democratic” state. However, the crimes committed by Hamas and other armed groups in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 have been—and continue to be—used by Israeli authorities to justify intensifying these trends and further consolidating a regime of ethno-national supremacy on an even larger scale.
For over two years, Israeli public life has been shrouded in a heavy, disorienting fog. There has been an unending churn of crises, conflicts, and anxieties at home and abroad: the shock of the Hamas attack of October 7 and Israel’s genocidal campaign of revenge on Gaza, the fight to bring back the hostages and against the state’s vilification of their families, the reckless confrontations with Iran. Together, these have left Israeli society suspended in a collective stupor, obscuring the depth of the abyss into which we are rapidly descending.
But the same cannot be said of our parliamentarians. As a disturbing new report by the Haifa-based legal center Adalah shows, they have used the chaos of the past two years to advance more than 30 new laws entrenching apartheid and Jewish supremacy — joining Adalah’s existing list of now more than 100 Israeli laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens.
One of the report’s central findings is a sweeping assault on freedom of expression, thought, and protest across a wide array of arenas. It includes laws prohibiting the publication of content that includes “denial of the events of October 7,” as determined by the Knesset, and restricting broadcasts of critical media outlets that “harm state security.”
MK Ayman Odeh tells journalists that his Hadash front will not support the far-right government’s proposed bill to regulate ultra-Orthodox enlistment, stating that “there will be no scenario in which Hadash-Ta’al faction will support, be absent, abstain, or act in any way that could be interpreted as a lifeline for the government.” “We want to create complications for the government; we want to shorten its days. Anything that helps bring down the government — Hadash–Ta’al will support,” he added.
Klingbeil zeigt sich am Mittwoch abend in der ARD zwar »wirklich dankbar«, wie »verantwortungsvoll« die Linke sich verhalte. Es gehe dennoch darum, »eine eigene Mehrheit zu organisieren«. In den kommenden dreieinhalb Jahren werde man sehr viele Entscheidungen zu treffen haben, »und wir können nicht immer davon ausgehen, dass die Linken oder dass die Grünen uns da zur Seite springen«, so Klingbeil. Das kann man offenbar schon, wie sich gerade wieder zeigt – aber natürlich ist das auf Dauer für alle Beteiligten ein bisschen peinlich.
Im Rentenstreit gibt es für die Regierungskoalition Unterstützung von unerwarteter Seite. Die Linksfraktion will sich bei der Abstimmung im Bundestag enthalten – weshalb das Vorhaben wohl eine Mehrheit bekommen würde.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) shared a 2016 video, first reported in CNN, where Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told an audience that the U.S. military “won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief.” Words remarkably similar to Slotkin’s in a video she posted recently where she simply restated the law.
Major Pete Hegseth, in 2016 said:
“If you are doing something that is completely unlawful and ruthless then there is a consequence for that. That’s why the military said it won’t follow unlawful orders from their commander in chief. There’s a standard; there’s an ethos; there’s a belief that we are above so many things are enemies or others would do.”
On Monday, the Pentagon announced an investigation into Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy fighter pilot, for possible violations of military law for appearing in the video. The video was published as legal questions swirl around the Trump administration‘s deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities.
While the White House has since walked back the president‘s remarks calling the Senators‘ video „seditious behavior, punishable by DEATH,“ Kelly told All Things Considered he thinks President Trump is „declaring that loyalty to the Constitution is punishable by death.“
President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress.
Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews. No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.
We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.
Yesterday, the FBI contacted the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms requesting interviews.
No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.
We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will never give up the ship.
On Monday, the Department of War announced that it has opened a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Kelly over the video.
The Pentagon said it may even call Kelly, a retired Navy captain, back to active duty to face court-martial proceedings or other administrative actions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Four of the other Democrats are former military, but not retired and therefore are not subject to the UCMJ, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Slotkin is a former CIA officer.
(November 18, 2025)
(November 20, 2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Representatives Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) released the following joint statement:
“We are veterans and national security professionals who love this country and swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation.“
“What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty.“
“But this isn’t about any one of us. This isn’t about politics. This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity.“
“In these moments, fear is contagious, but so is courage. We will continue to lead and will not be intimidated.“
“Don’t Give Up the Ship!”
(14 hours ago)
Earlier this morning, President Trump threatened me and a group of service and veteran Members of Congress with arrest, trial, and death by hanging.
Here’s my response.
(November 18, 2025)
The president could order the release of the entire Epstein document trove at any time, vote or no vote. So far, he’s declined to do so.
Senate GOP leaders have not committed to holding a vote on the Epstein bill if the House passes it as expected this week. While Republicans still widely assume the measure will die in the other chamber, it will be hard to argue to GOP senators that they should take the political heat while their House counterparts get to take a consequence-free vote.
Massie has been working with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who authored a Senate version of the bill, to bring the matter to a head across the Rotunda. Senate Democrats are already exploring options to force a vote in the coming weeks.
(updated 12 hours ago)
Trump’s reversal comes as expectations of mass GOP defections grew ahead of a House vote this week on an attempt to force the Justice Department to release all of the Epstein case files.
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California last week gathered enough signatures on a discharge petition to force such a vote.
Massie and Khanna appeared optimistic earlier Sunday about their bill’s chances of passing, insisting there was growing support among the GOP in the House.
A vote was held to discharge Resolution S.J.Res.90, the Venezuela Hostilities Removal Resolution, a resolution sponsored by Democrats Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff and Republican senator Rand Paul on October 16.
It aimed to invoke the 1973 War Powers Resolution which asserts that US military action should be approved by US Congress.
The motion was not agreed to, 49 US senators voting in favour, but 51 voting against.