Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) issued a statement Saturday vowing to conduct “vigorous oversight” on Caribbean strikes after a report surfaced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the U.S. military to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug vessel.
Archiv: Hierarchien / Befehlsketten / Machtarchitektur / System / hierarchies / chains of command / power architecture / system
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
(November 28, 2025)
As two men clung to a stricken, burning ship targeted by SEAL Team 6, the Joint Special Operations commander followed the defense secretary’s order to leave no survivors.
Sen. Mark Kelly: Trump and Hegseth don‘t ‚understand the Constitution‘
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.“
My Statement on FBI Request for Interviews
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.
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.
FBI scheduling interviews with 6 lawmakers who encouraged military members to refuse ‚illegal orders‘
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.
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community. The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution. Don’t give up the ship.
(November 18, 2025)
Pentagon threatens to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to military service for court martial over illegal orders video
The investigation comes as President Donald Trump has been pushing relentlessly for consequences for Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers over a video they made reminding servicemembers of their duty to disobey illegal orders, calling their actions “seditious” and “treason.”
Because Kelly was a senior officer who retired from the Navy, he is required to remain available for recall to the military by law. The other five lawmakers, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Rep. Jason Crow, Rep. Maggie Goodlander, Rep. Chris Deluzio and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, are not eligible for recall to a military service.
In clash with Zamir, Katz orders re-evaluation of external probe of IDF’s Oct.7 investigations
Additionally, Katz says that his position, whereby officers who served in the Southern Command on October 7 will not be promoted, “remains unchanged.” This comes after Zamir ruled that there was no issue with the promotion of three senior officers, whose promotions were previously held up or canceled by Katz.
Israel’s army chief dismisses officers for ‘failure to prevent’ 7 October attack
(November 23, 2025)
Israeli chief of staff Eyal Zamir on Sunday dismissed senior officers in the military over „failure to prevent“ the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas, local media reported.
Zamir ended the service of several retired generals, including the former Military Intelligence chief Aharon Haliva, former Southern Command chief Yaron Finkelman, and former Operations Directorate chief Oded Basyuk, according to the public broadcaster KAN.
The report said that Zamir also dismissed Gaza Division reserve commander Avi Rosenfeld, while the division’s intelligence officer was expelled from the army altogether.
Joint Statement from Lawmakers Slotkin, Kelly, Crow, Deluzio, Goodlander, and Houlahan
(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!”
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.”
President Trump threatened me and a group lawmakers. Here‘s my response.
(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.
Trump says Democrats’ video message to military is ‘seditious behavior’ punishable by death
(November 20, 2025)
President Donald Trump on Thursday accused half a dozen Democratic lawmakers of sedition “punishable by DEATH” after the lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — called on U.S. military members to uphold the constitution and defy “illegal orders.”
The 90-second video was first posted early Tuesday from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers — Slotkin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan — speak directly to U.S. service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are “under enormous stress and pressure right now.”
Nach Aufruf ans Militär Trump wirft sechs Demokraten Hochverrat vor
Ein Video, in dem sechs Kongressmitglieder der US-Demokraten Militärangehörige aufrufen, illegale Befehle nicht zu befolgen, hat US-Präsident Donald Trump in Rage versetzt. Er bezeichnete deren Appell als Hochverrat. Die sechs Demokraten seien „Verräter“, schrieb er auf seiner Plattform Truth Social. Ihr „aufwieglerisches Verhalten“ sei „strafbar mit dem Tode“. In einem weiteren Beitrag begnügte er sich in der für ihn üblichen Großschreibung damit, die Frage zu stellen, ob die Beteiligten eingesperrt werden sollten.
We want to speak directly to members of the Military and the Intelligence Community. The American people need you to stand up for our laws and our Constitution. Don’t give up the ship.
(November 18, 2025)
Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars
(26.4.2018)
As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.
After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.
Jeffrey Epstein and the Mossad: How The Sex-Trafficker Helped Israel Build a Backchannel to Russia Amid Syrian Civil War
(October 30, 2025)
Barak felt enormous urgency to secure a face-to-face meeting with Putin as soon as possible, before the conflict escalated further. Besides Epstein, he also requested comments from Ron Dermer, close confidante to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was preparing to become Israel’s next ambassador to the U.S. Barak wrote to Dermer, “i don’t care how you’ve corrected it. yours will be always better in clarity and conciseness than mine. try earlier. i don’t want events to overwhelm us.” Dermer swiftly returned a refined copy with more fluent English.
As was typical of Epstein’s style, he sent back a rough cut riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. Unlike Dermer’s narrower cut, Epstein significantly revised Barak’s piece, and added a new title: “Wait Until It’s Too Late.”
Epstein & Israel: Drop Site News Investigates Jeffrey Epstein’s Ties to Israeli Intelligence
(November 12, 2025)
As the House of Representatives moves closer to forcing the release of the Epstein files by the Department feel Justice, we turn now to look at a new series by Drop Site News looking at Epstein’s ties to Israeli intelligence and how he secretly brokered numerous deals for Israeli intelligence.
On Tuesday, Drop Site revealed an Israeli spy stayed for weeks at a time with Epstein in Manhattan. Drop Site has also looked at Epstein’s role brokering a security agreement between Israel and Mongolia and Epstein’s role in setting up a backchannel between Israel and Russia on Syria.
US sidelining Israel on decision-making at Gaza ceasefire HQ, official says
Israel is playing a secondary role to the US at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, where the Gaza ceasefire is being monitored by at least a dozen nations, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Friday.
The compound in southern Israel is intended as a hub for the International Stabilization Force (ISF) set to take the reins of Gaza as part of US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive ceasefire plan, which the US is seeking to enshrine into international law via a UN Security Council vote.
US steps up presence in Gaza to support fragile ceasefire
The U.S. military-led “coordination center” charged with implementing President Donald Trump’s peace plan in the Gaza Strip is replacing Israel as the overseer of humanitarian aid to the enclave, even as multiple people familiar with the center’s first weeks of operations have described it as chaotic and indecisive.
In a transition that was completed Friday, the Israelis are still “part of the conversation,” but decisions will be taken by the wider body, a U.S. official said, referencing the shift from COGAT, the unit within the Israel Defense Forces responsible for regulating and facilitating aid in Gaza, to the Civil-Military Coordination Center set up in southern Israel near the Gaza border.
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.
Zohran Mamdani’s Next Big Battle is in Albany
(November 5, 2025)
The Working Families Party is open to backing a challenger to Hochul in the 2026 Democratic primary, including Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, who is running a longshot campaign to Hochul’s left.
“We will make that decision, likely in late January or early February, shortly after we see the governor’s executive budget proposal,” Gripper said. “She’s going to have to prove to her own party why she shouldn’t be primaried.”
United Nations Security Council: PERMANENT AND NON-PERMANENT MEMBERS
The Council is composed of 15 Members:
Five permanent members: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly (with end of term year):
– Algeria (2025)
– Denmark (2026)
– Greece (2026)
– Guyana (2025)
– Pakistan (2026)
– Panama (2026)
– Republic of Korea (2025)
– Sierra Leone (2025)
– Slovenia (2025)
– Somalia (2026)
U.S. Seeks Two-Year U.N. Mandate for Gaza Stabilization Force
It is not clear whether the draft would have enough support at the Security Council to be approved. Nine of the 15 members would need to vote in favor of it, and all five permanent members, including Russia and China, would have to abstain from a veto.
The draft is largely in line with Mr. Trump’s plan, which was first presented in September. It says the force would operate under the guidance of an international body known as the “Board of Peace,” and that its mandate would expire on Dec. 31, 2027. The draft suggests that date could be extended.
Scoop: U.S. seeks UN approval for Gaza security force with broad two-year mandate
The U.S. sent several UN Security Council members a draft resolution on Monday for the establishment of an international force in Gaza for a duration of at least two years, according to a copy obtained by Axios.
Netanyahu says Israel will decide which foreign troops acceptable to secure Gaza ceasefire
(October 27, 2025)
„We are in control of our security, and we have also made it clear regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us, and this is how we operate and will continue to operate,“ Netanyahu said.
„This is, of course, acceptable to the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have expressed in recent days,“ he told a session of his cabinet.
Running to Hochul’s left, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado says tax hikes on the wealthiest may be on the table
(June 18, 2025)
Earlier Wednesday, Gov. Hochul told Pix 11, “I don’t want to lose more people to Palm Beach“ when asked about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to raise taxes. Delgado referenced the governor’s comment when explaining his own position on taxes.
“All options should be on the table, and the notion that we wouldn’t contemplate raising taxes on the super wealthy, or that we wouldn’t contemplate making sure that larger corporations pay more into the system, to me, is the exact type of ‘maintain the status quo, do what you need to do just to maintain power’ as opposed to actually thinking about what is required,” he stated.
Hochul has raised corporate taxes, but has held the line on raising new income taxes.
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.
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.