“I’m reminded of what my mother would tell me when I was a kid, ‘Ten wrongs don’t make a right,’ so the fact that 10 presidents have done it doesn’t make it right. Our Founding Fathers were united to a person — all those who signed, all those who debated over the Constitution, the Federalist Papers — were unanimous that Congress should declare war, no president should on his own. Now we have disobeyed that, but we do have the ability, if Congress rose up in a clear two-thirds majority and said ‘no,’ we could overturn any veto.”
Archiv: Gewaltenteilung / Gewaltensammlung / checks and balances / accumulation of power
Lawmakers react to US seizure of Venezuelan oil tanker
Last week, Paul and Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.), Adam Schiff (Ca.) and Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) filed a war powers resolution to prevent the administration from engaging Venezuela in conflict without congressional approval.
The Kentucky Republican reiterated he and his colleagues’ push on Wednesday, saying that “if you want war, the president should come to Congress, like the Constitution dictates, and he should ask Congress for a declaration of war.
“That’s what should be going on right now.”
Shipwrecked or Not, All These Bombings are Murder
(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.”
‘All of Them Constitute Murder,’ Amnesty Says of Trump Boat Bombings
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.
Donald Trump Faces Growing Republican Backlash Over Foreign Policy Moves
Some conservative and libertarian-minded Republicans have broken with Trump over his approach to Venezuela. Many Republicans have embraced an “America First” view of foreign policy and oppose regime change in other countries if they do not believe it benefits Americans.
(…)
Trump’s proposal for a peace deal on the Russia-Ukraine war has also drawn scrutiny. Critics have raised concerns that the deal may be too favorable to Russia, pointing to proposals that Ukraine would give up the eastern Donbas region and shrink its army to end a war started by Russia more than three years ago.
UK government lawyers use ‚secret evidence‘ to justify ban on Palestine Action
A portion of Tuesday’s hearing was held in closed session to allow the government to present material it says cannot be disclosed on national security grounds.
During these closed proceedings, known as closed material procedures (CMP), Ammori and her legal team replaced by a special advocate appointed by Ammori.
However, the special advocate is not permitted to share the government’s submissions with Ammori or her lawyers.
It means that if Ammori loses her case based on the secret evidence, neither she nor her team will know what the government argued against her or Palestine Action.
House committee seeks ‘full accounting’ of boat strike after WaPo ‘kill everybody’ report
The leaders of the House Armed Services Committee said late Saturday they are seeking “full accounting” of an early September U.S. military attack against an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean after a report alleged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. troops to “kill everybody” aboard the vessel.
“This committee is committed to providing rigorous oversight of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) military operations in the Caribbean,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chair of the House committee, and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the panel, said in a joint statement.
CAIR Director Nihad Awad: Texas terror designation ‘unconstitutional’
In an interview with our Arabic edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Awad said: „We defeated him three times in court when he ignored the rights of Texas citizens in the right to boycott against Israel.
We believe this is retaliation against the institution, and US courts do not allow any official in power to take revenge on an institution or place that defeated them in the judiciary.“
Founded in 1994, CAIR is the largest civil-rights and Muslim advocacy organisation in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, DC, it operates more than 35 regional offices nationwide.
Ban on Palestine Action is repugnant and should be lifted, high court told
In written submissions, he highlighted a September 2024 report from the National Police Coordination Centre that came after alleged terrorism incidents. The report concluded that Palestine Action was “a risk to UK businesses and legitimate enterprises nationwide” and engaged as a whole in “non-violent direct action”.
Another report from the centre in December last year said incidents in which violence had been used were “not the norm for PA (Palestine Action) action, and any harm or injuries historically are assessed to be the result of unintentional or misjudged action through trying to evade capture”.
Starmer and Trump discussed Palestine Action twice on calls before group’s terror ban, court hears
Activists from the group painted “Gaza is not for sale” and dug up parts of the green at Mr Trump’s golf course in Scotland in March 2025, with the president writing on social media that the prime minister had assured him that “they caught the terrorists” involved.
The group was proscribed as a terror organisation in an unusual move four months later, after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed two military planes with red paint.
Palestine Action’s legal challenge against UK government ban begins
Legal action by Huda Ammori, the cofounder of Palestine Action, has begun in London’s High Court against the decision by the United Kingdom government to designate the activist group as a terrorist organisation.
The interior ministry, or Home Office, proscribed the pro-Palestinian group in July, days after activists protesting against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza broke into an air force base in southern England.
Entscheidung von US-Richterin: Einsatz der Nationalgarde in Washington ist illegal
Die Regierung von US-Präsident Donald Trump habe die Einheit der Hauptstadt nicht ohne ausdrückliche Anforderung der lokalen Behörden aktivieren dürfen. Zudem hätte sie Nationalgardisten aus anderen Bundesstaaten zu polizeilichen Zwecken nicht nach Washington beordern dürfen, hieß es in der Verfügung weiter.
Cobb ordnete an, den Einsatz der Nationalgarde zu beenden, setzte ihre Entscheidung jedoch für drei Wochen aus, damit die Trump-Regierung in Berufung gehen kann. Die Anordnung bleibt damit bis zum 11. Dezember außer Kraft.
Trump administration ordered to halt ‘unlawful’ Guard deployment in D.C.
U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb wrote in her opinion that the deployment was “unlawful,” has caused D.C. “irreparable harm to its sovereign powers under the Home Rule Act” — the 1973 law that gave D.C. residents their own elected government — and has “infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself.”
What is the Posse Comitatus Act, and how does it apply to Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in California and Washington, D.C.?
(September 9, 2025)
Dan Urman, director of the law and public policy minor at Northeastern University, who teaches courses on the Supreme Court, says the National Guard is often caught between state and federal authority. The guard generally reports to their respective state governors, “but if they get called into federal service, then the Posse Comitatus Act applies to them.”
“To work around this, presidents can ask governors to deploy their state’s National Guard members,” Urman says.
Judge permanently blocks deployment of National Guard to Portland, saying Trump exceeded his authority
In a 106-decision, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut made permanent an order she issued last month blocking the deployment into the city.
„The evidence demonstrates that these deployments, which were objected to by Oregon‘s governor and not requested by the federal officials in charge of protection of the ICE building, exceeded the president‘s authority,“ the judge wrote.
Supreme Court issues emergency order to block full SNAP food aid payments
The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the government shutdown, even though residents in some states already have received the funds.
US Senate blocks bid to limit Trump’s war powers on Venezuela
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.
Here’s Every Bill That Kathy Hochul Vetoed in 2024
(January 3, 2025)
In her first three full years in office, she axed an average of roughly one in seven bills that went to her desk, a higher rate than her recent predecessors. And she has continued to negotiate so-called chapter amendments to dozens of other bills, signing less legislation as the legislature passed it than any governor since at least George Pataki — a Republican who presided over a divided legislature for his entire tenure. (Hochul, by contrast, has only ever worked with a legislature led by her fellow Democrats.)
This year, she vetoed 124 standalone bills as well as 15 line items in the state budget.
New York State Executive Law: Powers and Responsibilities
Governor’s Powers
The governor of New York holds broad authority under the state constitution and Executive Law, serving as the chief executive responsible for enforcing state laws. Article IV, Section 3 grants the governor the power to propose legislation, approve or veto bills, and convene special legislative sessions. The veto power includes a line-item veto for budget appropriations, allowing the governor to eliminate specific expenditures without rejecting an entire bill. Overriding a veto requires a two-thirds majority in both legislative chambers, making gubernatorial decisions difficult to overturn without strong legislative opposition.
The governor also controls the state’s budgetary process under Article VII, submitting an annual executive budget that outlines expenditures and revenue sources. The Court of Appeals, in Silver v. Pataki (2004), upheld the governor’s dominant role in budget negotiations, reinforcing executive influence over financial policy. This control extends to discretionary funds allocated for economic development, infrastructure, and other initiatives without legislative approval.
Bürgermeisterwahl in New York Mamdani – klarer Favorit mit besonderen Plänen
Mamdani gehört zum linken Flügel der Demokratischen Partei. Er bezeichnet sich selbst als Sozialist und will seine Wahlversprechen am liebsten durch Steuererhöhungen für Reiche und Unternehmen umsetzen. Dafür bräuchte er allerdings die Unterstützung der Gouverneurin des Bundesstaates New York.
SNAP update: Trump admin will pay 50% of food stamp benefits in November amid shutdown
McConnell, in a written order on Sunday, gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture two options.
One option was to make the full payment of SNAP benefits for November by the end of the day Monday by using Section 32 Child Nutrition Program fundings and other unspecified funds.
The other option was to “make a partial payment of the total amount of the contingency fund and … expeditiously resolve the administrative and clerical burdens it described in its papers, but under no circumstances shall the partial payments be made later than Wednesday.”
Supreme Court Confronts Trump and His Tariffs in Test of Presidential Power
The Supreme Court’s six conservative justices have so far been receptive to Mr. Trump’s claims of presidential authority. Among other things, they have allowed the administration to withhold funds appropriated by Congress, kick transgender troops out of the military and pursue aggressive immigration-related policies — but all on a temporary, emergency basis.
The tariffs case is the first time the justices have weighed the underlying legal merits of a key administration priority in Mr. Trump’s second term.
Trump reverses course on attending Supreme Court arguments this week
The justices are set to weigh a pair of legal challenges to Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on several countries by invoking a nearly 50-year-old law. No president before Trump has used the law, known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, to impose tariffs, which have brought in tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. government.
Trump’s decision came after at least one prominent Trump ally indicated it would be unwise for the president to attend.
Food stamp benefits for 42 million Americans in jeopardy today amid shutdown
Democrats are suing the Trump administration in part over its refusal to use the SNAP emergency fund, which they contend has about $5 billion, to fund the program. But a recent memo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) argued there was no legal standing to use the fund and that federal SNAP funds would run dry by Nov. 1 if Democrats did not vote to end the shutdown.
A pair of federal judges ruled on Friday that the administration would have to pay out the food stamp benefits for November, either in full or partially.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins affirmed the memo during a Friday press conference,
Judge orders Trump administration to fund food aid for millions of Americans
U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr.’s oral order Friday came just before the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, is set to run out of money this weekend. Trump administration officials have not yet indicated whether they will appeal the ruling.
Verfassungsbeschwerde gegen deutsche Waffenexporte nach Israel
Bereits im Oktober 2024 hatte der Beschwerdeführer beim Verwaltungsgericht Frankfurt Eilrechtsschutz beantragt. Der Antrag sowie die anschließende Beschwerde beim Hessischen Verwaltungsgerichtshof in Kassel wurden abgewiesen. Mit der nun eingereichten Verfassungsbeschwerde wendet sich der Beschwerdeführer gegen diese Entscheidungen, die ihm einen wirksamen Rechtsschutz versagt haben.
Er beruft sich auf sein Grundrecht auf Leben und körperliche Unversehrtheit (Art. 2 Abs. 2 GG) sowie auf sein Recht auf effektiven Rechtsschutz (Art. 19 Abs. 4 GG). Er fordert eine verfassungsgerichtliche Klärung, ob die Verweigerung von Eilrechtsschutz – angesichts der erkennbaren Risiken durch deutsche Waffenlieferungen – seine Grundrechte verletzt.
Der Fall macht deutlich: Deutschland muss Menschen vor den Folgen seiner Waffenexporte schützen. Entscheidungen über Rüstungslieferungen sind nicht nur juristisch, sondern auch faktisch von unmittelbarer Bedeutung für Menschenleben – in den vergangenen zwei Jahren dieses verheerenden Krieges ebenso wie heute
Constitutional complaint against German arms exports to Israel
As early as October 2024, the complainant had applied for interim legal protection at the Frankfurt Administrative Court. The application and the subsequent appeal to the Hessian Higher Administrative Court in Kassel were rejected. With the constitutional complaint now filed, the complainant is challenging these decisions, which denied him effective legal protection.
He invokes his fundamental right to life and physical inviolability (Article 2(2) of the Basic Law) as well as his right to effective legal protection (Article 19(4) of the Basic Law).
He is seeking a constitutional clarification as to whether the denial of interim legal protection – in light of the recognizable risks posed by German arms deliveries – violates his fundamental rights.
This case makes clear: Germany must protect people from the consequences of its arms exports. Decisions about arms deliveries are not only legally but also factually of immediate significance for human lives – during the two years of this devastating war as much as today.
Court permits Trump‘s troop deployment in Portland, pending further appeal
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut issued two temporary restraining orders early this month — one that prohibited Trump from calling up the troops so he could send them to Portland, and another that prohibited him from sending any National Guard members to Oregon at all, after the president tried to evade the first order by deploying California troops instead.
The Justice Department appealed the first order, and in a 2-1 ruling Monday, a panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the administration.
Immergut’s second order remains in effect, so no troops may immediately be deployed.
Trump says 2 survivors of US strike on submarine being sent to Ecuador, Colombia in move that avoids legal fight
In a legal defense provided to Congress, Trump told lawmakers that the U.S. is in an „armed conflict“ with the cartels and that drug smugglers are „unarmed combatants.“
Some legal experts have said such an argument is unlikely to hold up in court. However, it was unclear who would challenge Trump’s rationale in defense of the drug cartels, with few lawmakers speaking out against it and Trump continuing to expand military operations in the region in recent weeks.
Palestine Action‘s bid to challenge its status as a terror organisation CAN proceed, judges rule, as they dismiss Home Office appeal
After the ruling Ms Ammori said: ‚This is a landmark victory: not only against one of the most extreme attacks on civil liberties in recent British history, but for the fundamental principle that Government ministers can and must be held accountable when they act unlawfully.
‚The Government‘s effort to avoid judicial scrutiny of its blatantly anti-democratic proscription – branding a protest group as ‚terrorists‘ for the first time in British history – has backfired spectacularly, and we now head into the judicial review in November with an even stronger legal footing.
‚Arresting peaceful protesters and those disrupting the arms trade is a dangerous misuse of counter-terror resources, with over 2,000 people having now been arrested – a staggering 3,100 percent increase in counter-terror arrests.
‚Rather than being used to protect the public, the Terrorism Act is being used as a political tool to silence them.
UK Home Office loses bid to block Palestine Action from challenging ban as terror group
During the judgement, four judges, including the Lady Chief Justice, also granted Palestine Action‘s co-founder, Huda Ammori, two further grounds to challenge the ban, that were previously rejected.
These grounds include that the Home Secretary, at the time, failed to consider relevant information or/and considered irrelevant information, and that she failed to follow her published policy „which prescribes that certain factors may be taken into account“.
Following Friday‘s judgement, Ammori praised the decision and described it as an „authoritarian ban“ that must be opposed.