Joseph Nunn

Counsel in the Liberty and National Security Program at the @brennancenter. Expert in the domestic role of the armed forces. Dad.

[Noah Chauvin @NoahChauvin]

The intelligence community hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Section 702. So for @jahimes to wave away concerns by saying “it’s classified” isn’t a compelling or satisfactory answer.

[Elizabeth Goitein @LizaGoitein]

URGENT: Please read thread below. We have just days to convince the Senate NOT to pass a “terrifying” law (@RonWyden) that will force U.S. businesses to serve as NSA spies. CALL YOUR SENATOR NOW using this call tool (click below or call 202-899-8938). 1/25 https://t.co/HAOHURZoJQ

[Elizabeth Goitein @LizaGoitein]

Wow. The disregard for Americans' civil liberties in this reply is staggering. This provision allows the NSA to force a huge range of ordinary U.S. businesses to assist the NSA in Section 702 surveillance. That's not "nonsense," that's a fact. And this is your response??

[Joseph Nunn @josephanunn]

In other words, under current law an "insurrection" is whatever the president says is an insurrection. This is why it is so important for Congress to reform the Insurrection Act to create safeguards against abuse. https://t.co/2MAmgxMDPQ

[Joseph Nunn @josephanunn]

If Trump wanted to do this, he would need to invoke the Insurrection Act and use either federalized National Guard or active-duty troops. He probably could, because the Insurrection Act makes the president the sole judge of whether a given situation justifies invoking it.

[Joseph Nunn @josephanunn]

But that was only possible because DC is not a state. When operating under the aforementioned law, the National Guard remains under state command and control. That means they are state officers exercising state authority. Under the Constitution, states cannot invade one another.

[Joseph Nunn @josephanunn]

Miller seems to be envisioning a repeat of June 2020, when the Trump admin used an obscure federal law to bring thousands of National Guard troops from 11 states into DC to suppress Black Lives Matter protests over the objections of DC's local government. https://t.co/tKqTE4NZCn

[Joseph Nunn @josephanunn]

Last fall, Trump advisor Stephen Miller explained that the administration would carry out its mass deportations in part by borrowing National Guard personnel from cooperative red-state governors and sending them into "unfriendly" blue states. https://t.co/Rcm65PcqRH

[Joseph Nunn @josephanunn]

Donald Trump plans to deport millions of people if elected to a second term. Federal law, which gives the president nearly unlimited discretion to use the military as a domestic police force, would allow him to embroil the armed forces in that effort. https://t.co/3meuYNtUPP

[Joseph Nunn @josephanunn]

There's no doubt Biden could use the Insurrection Act to federalize the Texas National Guard. The law puts few limits on presidential discretion. But that is why Biden should be cautious a/b lowering the threshold for invoking it. There is a lot of room left to litigate here.

[Just Security @just_security]

While Biden could legally invoke the Insurrection Act to federalize the Texas National Guard, it’s more appropriate to resolve current immigration enforcement issues through the courts.

Joseph Nunn of the @brennancenter explains:

https://t.co/oNVo1Pfdfb

[Joseph Nunn @josephanunn]

The Insurrection Act offers the president unchecked authority to use the military to staff a mass deportation program, as @RonBrownstein explains. But the law is dangerous outside of the immigration context, too, and no matter who is president. https://t.co/Rcm65PcqRH