Thats certainly the assumption trump is functioning under. My initial response -👇🏻
So. “[Himes] noted Hegseth’s own writing, which argues for “a lot less lawyers and a lot more lethal,” and pointed to reporting that top commanders were told to follow orders “regardless of your view if they’re legal or not.”
“Kingsley Wilson, Trump’s newly installed Pentagon press secretary, stepped to the microphone and declared that the boat strikes, including the follow-on strike that killed the survivors, were “presidentially directed.” Her exact words were, “The Secretary has been very clear in every statement that we’ve released about these strikes that they are presidentially directed…At the end of the day, the Secretary and the President and the ones directing these strikes.”
Huh. It all sounds a bit “nixonesque”. “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal".
That nuisance, the Constitution. And the bothersome rule of law with all those pesky rules. Who needs all that when it’s so much quicker and easier with a dictator who’s surrounded by bootlicking sycophants who will gladly sidestep all that!
And that’s exactly what SCOTUS had in mind, right?
An authoritarian, oligarchic, theocratic dictatorship.
I just found an "official" (so it says, and it certainly looks like one) website that calls the U.S. Department of Defense the "Department of War". Got there from looking for Kingsley, who popped up on Wikipedia referenced to "Department of War". THERE IS NO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF WAR. Can anyone in this regime be held legally responsible for characterizing the U.S. Department of Defense as the "..of War"?
Trump has brazenly tossed aside all respect for and acknowledgment of what’s “legal”. He simply ignores the law, the process.
The truth is this. “No, the President cannot legally change the official name of the Department of Defense to the "Department of War" without an act of Congress. The power to create and rename executive departments rests with the U.S. Congress, as established by the Constitution.”
He can only use Dept of War, as a secondary or sub-title. But he’s probably already been ignoring that legal requirement, in many instances. Unless or until someone is willing to step up, stop him and hold him accountable, the constitution and rule of law are meaningless. And therein lies the rub.
Probably? Just told you it comes up on web search as the official site. So as what you're saying is that only "Congress" (meaning both houses?)can stop this? If so, how? If not, there is nothing to be done?
Canadian here Robert. The answer for me is that the US can not be trusted in any way. Nothing the “leadership” says or publishes can be believed, business arrangements hold no water, and ethics standards have ceased to exist. To me, the US has become a rogue nation to be avoided whenever possible. And all this stated with close friends and family living in the country. The US just makes me very sad and angry.
And they are getting away with it. I hope there will be some repercussions from the rest of the world since no matter what the Dems say about how horrific these actions are, here in the US there will be no consequences.
Because they do exactly that and they get away with it every single time. Right now, I’m putting the blame on Congress because they could have stopped the killings and the kidnappings and all the other BS this regime has been doing over the past 11 months, but they have chosen not to.
Who is that guy? It’s not fentanyl & the boat was totally blown up they were hanging on but WHERE is the Coast Guard to pick them up & arrest n question. They do NOT want anyone alive to speak. These small open vessels couldn’t make it to the U.S.! Meanwhile you pardon the #1 head of Honduras who DID bring in 4-500 TONS of cocaine so DON’T tell me this is about drugs‼️ Venezuela has the largest amount of OIL than any other country🙀☠️😫
"Presidentially directed..." language expressly to be in Supreme Court's "court" of unlimited power (pretty much). And hey, any trouble? got a pardon for ya, no prob.
This is their world view - we christian nationalists now own this place. Suck it up and live with it.
Please don't call it a 'right thinking' person but rather ... 'a sane and thinking person'. This is all so very sad and absolute lunacy. People keep talking about what people outside of the United States are thinking about what has been happening and I can't understand how ANYONE can not KNOW what the rest of the world is thinking. What has been happening and IS happening is the ranting and raving of a mad man and it's sycophants.
Even if the House votes to impeach, seems unlikely it would get past the Senate. And the Supreme Court has already given the president the authority to do what he wants. He does not care about being impeached
Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I'm getting the impression that not a few Republicans are wishing for a way to detach from this regime. What if a number of cabinet members, advisors, sycophants were indicted (on whatever) so's each (and all) would have to spend considerable time (as anyone must) preparing a defense, leaving them very little time for their jobs. I doubt many Republicans would make much of a fuss. Seems to me that playing their (his) game against them (him) might have some interesting effects.
We are NOT at war! Venezuela is NOT trafficking fentanyl! These MAGA people are full of BS! They MUST be voted out. Please American people come out and vote them away so that we NEVER see them again!
I agree with you 100%. It is more about rare ores and minerals. Natural resources that the US does NOT have. The US has oil. I also believe it is about 'control' and ego of the filthy fotus. It is INSANE and it wants what it wants. This regime takes top place for corrupt and egregious acts committed by the leadership of a/any country throughout time.
We also don’t know those two individuals were “bad as they may be.” We have no idea who they were! They could’ve been innocents and/or just people trying to make a buck who are desperate.
Although im not at all surprised that this command was indeed directed by Trump and Hegseth, I feel completely sickened, furious, disillusioned and determined to do anything and everything within my very limited power as an American citizen to bring this horrific regime to an end. These two criminals at the helm of our nation need to be removed and prosecuted.
It is possible that there is a diabolical strategy with this acknowledgement: because of our cowardly SCOTUS, if Trump is the one to be held to account then he is immune. He will argue that his orders were within the ambit of presidential duties (the "fog of war") and he is therefore immune. Of course it would not help Hegseth, but this would be why Trump takes "full responsibility" amid a grand gesture of "accountability".
Of course. The Supreme Court has already ruled he is immune in regards to "presidential actions". Like papal decisions, the Orange Man is infallible. Hegseth? That's were the pardon comes in, if needed.
She is a smug, snotty child with the ever-present Vocal Fry. This generation’s Valley Girl accent. She looks and sounds like a Kardashian. To be lectured and lied to by her on behalf of this Administration of criminally unethical, preposterously unqualified misanthropes is unacceptable.
Everyone is calling the strikes on the boats a war crime. My question: How can this be a war crime when there is no war? I would think it would be murder. Can you please explain this to me. Thanks.
Not sure the US has much moral standing left. I predict someone will leak the video and the world will recoil in horror. We must hold accountable the crooks and murderers running our country or we will be a pariah nation in the years ahead. Folks like Hines and his colleague from CT Sen. Murphy must fight loud and hard for the soul of this nation. We must REFORM our sick country so we can move forward with respect and honor, a country where bigotry is not tolerated and sadism and cruelty are seen for what they are.
I am completely with and grateful to Europe and their defense of Ukraine.
What, tell me, is Jared Kushner doing supposedly representing the U.S. in negotiations? I think we all know what the Wytkoff/Kushner agenda is here, and it has zero to do with democracy, freedom and justice for Ukraine. It’s their own Greed.
This is so distressing. They feel they can do whatever they want to whomever they want!!
Their policy to everything is “try and stop me”.
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK? It's, like, incredible".
Felon47 knows he's got a get-out-of-jail-free-card so why not just keep the extrajudicial killings going?
Thats certainly the assumption trump is functioning under. My initial response -👇🏻
So. “[Himes] noted Hegseth’s own writing, which argues for “a lot less lawyers and a lot more lethal,” and pointed to reporting that top commanders were told to follow orders “regardless of your view if they’re legal or not.”
“Kingsley Wilson, Trump’s newly installed Pentagon press secretary, stepped to the microphone and declared that the boat strikes, including the follow-on strike that killed the survivors, were “presidentially directed.” Her exact words were, “The Secretary has been very clear in every statement that we’ve released about these strikes that they are presidentially directed…At the end of the day, the Secretary and the President and the ones directing these strikes.”
Huh. It all sounds a bit “nixonesque”. “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal".
That nuisance, the Constitution. And the bothersome rule of law with all those pesky rules. Who needs all that when it’s so much quicker and easier with a dictator who’s surrounded by bootlicking sycophants who will gladly sidestep all that!
And that’s exactly what SCOTUS had in mind, right?
An authoritarian, oligarchic, theocratic dictatorship.
I just found an "official" (so it says, and it certainly looks like one) website that calls the U.S. Department of Defense the "Department of War". Got there from looking for Kingsley, who popped up on Wikipedia referenced to "Department of War". THERE IS NO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF WAR. Can anyone in this regime be held legally responsible for characterizing the U.S. Department of Defense as the "..of War"?
Trump has brazenly tossed aside all respect for and acknowledgment of what’s “legal”. He simply ignores the law, the process.
The truth is this. “No, the President cannot legally change the official name of the Department of Defense to the "Department of War" without an act of Congress. The power to create and rename executive departments rests with the U.S. Congress, as established by the Constitution.”
He can only use Dept of War, as a secondary or sub-title. But he’s probably already been ignoring that legal requirement, in many instances. Unless or until someone is willing to step up, stop him and hold him accountable, the constitution and rule of law are meaningless. And therein lies the rub.
https://www.military.com/feature/2025/10/17/department-of-war-not-legally-what-trumps-executive-order-really-does.html
Probably? Just told you it comes up on web search as the official site. So as what you're saying is that only "Congress" (meaning both houses?)can stop this? If so, how? If not, there is nothing to be done?
I want to hear plans for punishment
I can't imagine what the rest of the free world thinks about us
Canadian here Robert. The answer for me is that the US can not be trusted in any way. Nothing the “leadership” says or publishes can be believed, business arrangements hold no water, and ethics standards have ceased to exist. To me, the US has become a rogue nation to be avoided whenever possible. And all this stated with close friends and family living in the country. The US just makes me very sad and angry.
I think/hope the rest of the world agrees with you even though it is very very sad.
And they are getting away with it. I hope there will be some repercussions from the rest of the world since no matter what the Dems say about how horrific these actions are, here in the US there will be no consequences.
Because no one stops them! It is criminal that these people are running this country!
The question remains WHO CAN STOP THIS AND HOW?
Because they do exactly that and they get away with it every single time. Right now, I’m putting the blame on Congress because they could have stopped the killings and the kidnappings and all the other BS this regime has been doing over the past 11 months, but they have chosen not to.
Who is that guy? It’s not fentanyl & the boat was totally blown up they were hanging on but WHERE is the Coast Guard to pick them up & arrest n question. They do NOT want anyone alive to speak. These small open vessels couldn’t make it to the U.S.! Meanwhile you pardon the #1 head of Honduras who DID bring in 4-500 TONS of cocaine so DON’T tell me this is about drugs‼️ Venezuela has the largest amount of OIL than any other country🙀☠️😫
There is always an alternative motive for trumps decisions. If it benefits his pockets he's all for it, otherwise it's not important.
"Presidentially directed..." language expressly to be in Supreme Court's "court" of unlimited power (pretty much). And hey, any trouble? got a pardon for ya, no prob.
This is their world view - we christian nationalists now own this place. Suck it up and live with it.
They are doing whatever they want to whomever they want!
And so far they're right
I agree. I think they think they're Gods, in that they're un- touchable. They are all vile and disgusting.
These people need to pay for their actions. They are not above the law. This is not America. We are better than this!
Ben, thank you for keeping us informed and updated on this horrific mess.
We need to hear the punishment these people are going to face
😝😝😝
Have I missed that a war was declared? If not it is therefore it is quite simply straight up murder in the mind of any right thinking person.
Please don't call it a 'right thinking' person but rather ... 'a sane and thinking person'. This is all so very sad and absolute lunacy. People keep talking about what people outside of the United States are thinking about what has been happening and I can't understand how ANYONE can not KNOW what the rest of the world is thinking. What has been happening and IS happening is the ranting and raving of a mad man and it's sycophants.
What about Trump ?shouldn’t he be getting Impeached too..
Rep. Al Green is bringing articles of impeachment before Christmas.
The bravest member of Congress.
Even if the House votes to impeach, seems unlikely it would get past the Senate. And the Supreme Court has already given the president the authority to do what he wants. He does not care about being impeached
I totally agree as long as the Republicans are in charge we will continue to be screwed over
Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I'm getting the impression that not a few Republicans are wishing for a way to detach from this regime. What if a number of cabinet members, advisors, sycophants were indicted (on whatever) so's each (and all) would have to spend considerable time (as anyone must) preparing a defense, leaving them very little time for their jobs. I doubt many Republicans would make much of a fuss. Seems to me that playing their (his) game against them (him) might have some interesting effects.
they pardoned a convicted drug trafficker? do they they really care about the American people?
EXACTLY. This regime has pardoned over 1500 people so far…. That is more people than the last six presidencies including his first term.
"This regime" has not pardoned anybody.
No "they" pardoned anyone.
We are NOT at war! Venezuela is NOT trafficking fentanyl! These MAGA people are full of BS! They MUST be voted out. Please American people come out and vote them away so that we NEVER see them again!
They just want what they want - Venezuelan oil.
Well thats just false. Its about taking over the entire country, minerals, ports business opportunities… remember Trump-Gaza resorts,
? golf resorts on the Mediterranean… oil is such a tiny part of it..
I agree with you 100%. It is more about rare ores and minerals. Natural resources that the US does NOT have. The US has oil. I also believe it is about 'control' and ego of the filthy fotus. It is INSANE and it wants what it wants. This regime takes top place for corrupt and egregious acts committed by the leadership of a/any country throughout time.
And we don't need the oil!
I’m not sure we should give this admiral such a pass. I’m sorry, I just don’t. I think that he needs to really start telling the truth.
We also don’t know those two individuals were “bad as they may be.” We have no idea who they were! They could’ve been innocents and/or just people trying to make a buck who are desperate.
Very insightful.
We need to court martial that Admiral for following illegal orders
He's maga
He's maga
Although im not at all surprised that this command was indeed directed by Trump and Hegseth, I feel completely sickened, furious, disillusioned and determined to do anything and everything within my very limited power as an American citizen to bring this horrific regime to an end. These two criminals at the helm of our nation need to be removed and prosecuted.
It is possible that there is a diabolical strategy with this acknowledgement: because of our cowardly SCOTUS, if Trump is the one to be held to account then he is immune. He will argue that his orders were within the ambit of presidential duties (the "fog of war") and he is therefore immune. Of course it would not help Hegseth, but this would be why Trump takes "full responsibility" amid a grand gesture of "accountability".
Of course. The Supreme Court has already ruled he is immune in regards to "presidential actions". Like papal decisions, the Orange Man is infallible. Hegseth? That's were the pardon comes in, if needed.
She is a smug, snotty child with the ever-present Vocal Fry. This generation’s Valley Girl accent. She looks and sounds like a Kardashian. To be lectured and lied to by her on behalf of this Administration of criminally unethical, preposterously unqualified misanthropes is unacceptable.
Thank you, Ben. Shining a light matters, even if we're not sure yet how the war criminals will be held responsible. We will not forget...
Everyone is calling the strikes on the boats a war crime. My question: How can this be a war crime when there is no war? I would think it would be murder. Can you please explain this to me. Thanks.
Not sure the US has much moral standing left. I predict someone will leak the video and the world will recoil in horror. We must hold accountable the crooks and murderers running our country or we will be a pariah nation in the years ahead. Folks like Hines and his colleague from CT Sen. Murphy must fight loud and hard for the soul of this nation. We must REFORM our sick country so we can move forward with respect and honor, a country where bigotry is not tolerated and sadism and cruelty are seen for what they are.
Is anyone reviewing Venezuelan news to find out who these people are? I’m sure there’s a way to find out who they are.
Yes. Is there any truth coming out of Venezuela?
I am completely with and grateful to Europe and their defense of Ukraine.
What, tell me, is Jared Kushner doing supposedly representing the U.S. in negotiations? I think we all know what the Wytkoff/Kushner agenda is here, and it has zero to do with democracy, freedom and justice for Ukraine. It’s their own Greed.