A Substack newsletter devoted to analysis of presidential and broader executive power issues, by Bob Bauer and @jacklgoldsmith.
Joined February 2025
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Executive Functions retweeted
For anyone wondering about the meaning of DOJ’s “60 day rule,” this 2024 piece by Jack Goldsmith is helpful.
lawfaremedia.org/article/wha…
Executive Functions retweeted
Francis Fukuyama explaining to Bob Bauer that lawyers care about procedure and voters care about outcomes. Part of a broader interesting conversation. execfunctions.org/p/francis-…
Executive Functions retweeted
Super interesting opinions re vote safety next month. Most remarkable is bipartisan consensus against negative extremes (eg no expert "very concerned" about vote integrity and all experts "moderately" or "very" confident Sup Ct will be "fair/impartial")
nytimes.com/interactive/2026…
Executive Functions retweeted
From Faculty Director Bob Bauer’s new “Elections 2026” essay with @Exec_Functions— “The Politics of AI: A Campaign Finance Reform Proposal”
Executive Functions retweeted
Bob Bauer and I discuss the president's political advertising on the taxpayer's dime. execfunctions.org/p/advertis…
Executive Functions retweeted
🚨 Elections 2026: New by Faculty Director Bob Bauer — "The Challenges for Legal Commentary in the Last Weeks Before Election Day"
We're publishing daily essays on potential threats to the election process & mechanisms to manage them
Read here: democracyproject.org/posts/t…
Executive Functions retweeted
San Francisco on Monday sued Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., alleging that its 100k/mo early access feed to Truth Social posts by POTUS violates insider trading laws. I spoke with former SEC GC John Coates about this topic. execfunctions.org/p/is-trump…
Executive Functions retweeted
"If it were a different government official doing this, one the current administration didn’t like, they’d have ample legal room to go after them." Former SEC GC John Coates and I discuss the legality of Trump Media’s early-access feed.
execfunctions.org/p/is-trump…
Executive Functions retweeted
Happy 25th Birthday (sort of), 2001 AUMF! Sorry you are no longer (very) relevant. execfunctions.org/p/the-25th…
Executive Functions retweeted
🚨Next up in the Elections 2026 series: Faculty Dir. Bob Bauer — "In Missouri, A Judicial Response to Politicized Election Administration"
We're publishing daily essays on potential threats to the election process & mechanisms to manage them
Read here: democracyproject.org/posts/i…
Executive Functions retweeted
This is a very important question from @jacklgoldsmith.
The combination of fears about AI and the ability to process data means that nearly all of the biosecurity proposals imagine very substantial increases in state surveillance of individuals.
Executive Functions retweeted
Bob Bauer and I discuss litigation over the Trump administration’s executive order on the Postal Service and election integrity, and the recent final rule that the Postal Service issued to implement the order.
execfunctions.org/p/the-post…
Executive Functions retweeted
Thirty years ago, Jack Goldsmith and I argued that the famous civil procedure decision, Erie Railroad v. Tompkins, had important implications for how federal courts should apply international law. One of our principal illustrations was litigation under the Alien Tort Statute, a once-obscure jurisdictional provision dating back to the Founding that became the fount of modern human rights litigation. With its recent decision in Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe, the Supreme Court has now fully brought the Erie paradigm to bear on the Alien Tort Statute, as we will explain in an essay that we’re writing for the Harvard Law Review. @jacklgoldsmith @HarvLRev
Executive Functions retweeted
Something for Congress to consider as it appropriates for the Iran war -- appropriation for war can be and often is authorization for war, despite the War Powers Resolution.
execfunctions.org/p/the-stak…
Executive Functions retweeted
I'm a little bit sorry to say I think Jack has this exactly right, as a matter of law, norms and the present political moment. It's a dangerous time to do national security journalism.
Executive Functions retweeted
My take on the Trump administration's subpoenas of NYT reporters, which "highlight the fragility of judicially enforceable legal safeguards for journalists, who are protected from government subpoenas and prosecutions more by norms than by law."
Executive Functions retweeted
Breaking news: A federal judge ruled President Trump’s IRS lawsuit, which led to a now-abandoned proposal for a $1.8 billion payout fund, was filed for an “improper purpose” and referred the attorneys involved for potential disciplinary proceedings. wapo.st/4yqGtNN
Executive Functions retweeted
Bob Bauer and I discuss how the Trump administration is using law enforcement and executive power more generally to influence the congressional elections--aims, tactics, failures to date, and more.
execfunctions.org/p/trump-an…
Executive Functions retweeted
Sanctions relief that is illegal under U.S. law
SCOOP: The State Dept told Congress *yesterday* that Iran’s oil exports are a primary revenue source for terrorism financing—just hours after U.S. & Iran signed MOU that includes oil sanctions relief, and as Trump is downplaying Iran’s illicit behavior
punchbowl.news/article/forei…
Executive Functions retweeted
Why (I think) domestic law prevents Trump from waiving Iran sanctions as contemplated by the new MOU; what the USG counterarguments will be; and why the legal bar is likely unenforceable.
execfunctions.org/p/the-pres…
