The nomination of Gaiser for a judgeship is also likely to be, in significant part, a self-own:
It will very likely yield the public release of Gaiser/OLC opinions on (a) the boat strikes and (b) whatever convoluted magic the OLC concocted to say the Iran war was legal.
It will very likely yield the public release of Gaiser/OLC opinions on (a) the boat strikes and (b) whatever convoluted magic the OLC concocted to say the Iran war was legal.
November 9, 2026 at 4:33 PM
The nomination of Gaiser for a judgeship is also likely to be, in significant part, a self-own:
It will very likely yield the public release of Gaiser/OLC opinions on (a) the boat strikes and (b) whatever convoluted magic the OLC concocted to say the Iran war was legal.
It will very likely yield the public release of Gaiser/OLC opinions on (a) the boat strikes and (b) whatever convoluted magic the OLC concocted to say the Iran war was legal.
“Among many questionable OLC memos issued both under Gaiser’s name and under his office is the memo used to justify the boat-strike murders…A former federal prosecutor has written that this could be ‘worse’ than the Torture Memos issued by OLC during the George W. Bush administration.”
NEW: A look at how the three branches are reacting to last week’s elections.
Hegseth impeachment articles in the House, an alarming new Trump judicial nominee, and a SCOTUS order allowing a Trump border project to proceed.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
Hegseth impeachment articles in the House, an alarming new Trump judicial nominee, and a SCOTUS order allowing a Trump border project to proceed.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
A look at how the three branches are reacting to last week’s elections
Impeachment articles in the House, an alarming Trump judicial nominee, and a SCOTUS order allowing a Trump border project. And, for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs.
www.lawdork.com
November 10, 2026 at 4:51 AM
“Among many questionable OLC memos issued both under Gaiser’s name and under his office is the memo used to justify the boat-strike murders…A former federal prosecutor has written that this could be ‘worse’ than the Torture Memos issued by OLC during the George W. Bush administration.”
In the George W Bush administration, OLC gave us torture memos.
In Trump 2.0, OLC gave us a murder memo.
In Trump 2.0, OLC gave us a murder memo.
November 8, 2026 at 12:07 AM
In the George W Bush administration, OLC gave us torture memos.
In Trump 2.0, OLC gave us a murder memo.
In Trump 2.0, OLC gave us a murder memo.
Sure would be nice if Senate Republicans demanded the public release of the secret OLC opinion that Gaiser wrote authorizing the (deadly) boat strikes in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific before even *considering* whether he should receive a judicial commission.
Alas, I'm not holding my breath.
Alas, I'm not holding my breath.
UPDATE: And another one going: Office of Legal Counsel head T. Elliot Gaiser has been nominated by Trump to a district court judgeship in the Northern District of Texas, per a Senate aide.
Another big, post-midterms exit from DOJ. Civil Division head not a high profile job but VITAL to defending administration policies and priorities in court. Earlier: www.politico.com/news/2026/11...
November 9, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Sure would be nice if Senate Republicans demanded the public release of the secret OLC opinion that Gaiser wrote authorizing the (deadly) boat strikes in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific before even *considering* whether he should receive a judicial commission.
Alas, I'm not holding my breath.
Alas, I'm not holding my breath.
DOJ does continue to furnish the permission slip for the boat strikes—an OLC memo that Blanche has not countermanded.
"The offenses of Todd Blanche demand that he be impeached and convicted and removed from office..."
www.newsweek.com/pete-hegseth...
www.newsweek.com/pete-hegseth...
Pete Hegseth first, Todd Blanche next? Democrats eye impeachment push
Democrats are signaling tougher oversight of Trump officials, with some lawmakers raising the prospect of impeachment.
www.newsweek.com
November 8, 2026 at 12:00 AM
DOJ does continue to furnish the permission slip for the boat strikes—an OLC memo that Blanche has not countermanded.
The head of OLC (responsible for the 'Murder Memo' blessing the boat strikes) has been nominated for a federal judgeship and by strange coincidence, what am I reading...
November 12, 2026 at 3:56 PM
The head of OLC (responsible for the 'Murder Memo' blessing the boat strikes) has been nominated for a federal judgeship and by strange coincidence, what am I reading...
Not even the worst OLC memo in the last two years lol, that would be the one about presidential records
“Among many questionable OLC memos issued both under Gaiser’s name and under his office is the memo used to justify the boat-strike murders…A former federal prosecutor has written that this could be ‘worse’ than the Torture Memos issued by OLC during the George W. Bush administration.”
NEW: A look at how the three branches are reacting to last week’s elections.
Hegseth impeachment articles in the House, an alarming new Trump judicial nominee, and a SCOTUS order allowing a Trump border project to proceed.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
Hegseth impeachment articles in the House, an alarming new Trump judicial nominee, and a SCOTUS order allowing a Trump border project to proceed.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
November 10, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Not even the worst OLC memo in the last two years lol, that would be the one about presidential records
Have to believe OLC likely similarly backstopped this.
A New Low? Presidential Records and the Role of OLC
An extraordinary constitutional claim from OLC threatens decades of practice—and now faces the courts.
www.lawfaremedia.org
November 12, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Have to believe OLC likely similarly backstopped this.
Do t forget his revisionist OLC reinterpretation of the Federal Records Act.
November 9, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Do t forget his revisionist OLC reinterpretation of the Federal Records Act.
Why This Trump Lame-Duck Judicial Nomination Could be a Self-Own for the Ages talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
Why This Trump Lame-Duck Judicial Nomination Could be a Self-Own for the Ages
At Stake: Secret OLC Memos The worst of the Trump II foreign...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 10, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Why This Trump Lame-Duck Judicial Nomination Could be a Self-Own for the Ages talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...
The OLC opinion pretending the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional should be enough to kill his confirmation. Will it be?
UPDATE: And another one going: Office of Legal Counsel head T. Elliot Gaiser has been nominated by Trump to a district court judgeship in the Northern District of Texas, per a Senate aide.
Another big, post-midterms exit from DOJ. Civil Division head not a high profile job but VITAL to defending administration policies and priorities in court. Earlier: www.politico.com/news/2026/11...
November 9, 2026 at 4:06 PM
The OLC opinion pretending the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional should be enough to kill his confirmation. Will it be?
I wonder if Gaiser's questionnaire was hurriedly copied from his one for current job at OLC. This reference to case he was involved in over Ohio law banning transgender medical treatment for minors seems dated. Motion to stay granted last April. SCOH docket: www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/clerk/ecms/#...
November 9, 2026 at 3:51 PM
I wonder if Gaiser's questionnaire was hurriedly copied from his one for current job at OLC. This reference to case he was involved in over Ohio law banning transgender medical treatment for minors seems dated. Motion to stay granted last April. SCOH docket: www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/clerk/ecms/#...
Not the only OLC opinion that could be described as “false legal authorities”
November 10, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Not the only OLC opinion that could be described as “false legal authorities”
Inept officials will leave office, but their policies won’t leave with them.
Make the OLC memo public so the public can scrutinize the administration’s claims and have a better shot at challenging the strikes.
Make the OLC memo public so the public can scrutinize the administration’s claims and have a better shot at challenging the strikes.
Gaiser signed the still-secret legal opinion that okayed DOD's murderous boat strikes in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean.
UPDATE: And another one going: Office of Legal Counsel head T. Elliot Gaiser has been nominated by Trump to a district court judgeship in the Northern District of Texas, per a Senate aide.
November 9, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Inept officials will leave office, but their policies won’t leave with them.
Make the OLC memo public so the public can scrutinize the administration’s claims and have a better shot at challenging the strikes.
Make the OLC memo public so the public can scrutinize the administration’s claims and have a better shot at challenging the strikes.
“…under false legal authorities that he caused to be constructed and imposed upon the chain of command”
There’s some Torture Memo-era OLC opinions that are squarely described by this language too
There’s some Torture Memo-era OLC opinions that are squarely described by this language too
November 10, 2026 at 2:14 AM
“…under false legal authorities that he caused to be constructed and imposed upon the chain of command”
There’s some Torture Memo-era OLC opinions that are squarely described by this language too
There’s some Torture Memo-era OLC opinions that are squarely described by this language too
Perhaps senators have learned a lesson since that fiasco. Perhaps not.
There is precedent for senators using the leverage of a confirmation hearing to extract an OLC memo from an administration as recently as 2014.
There is precedent for senators using the leverage of a confirmation hearing to extract an OLC memo from an administration as recently as 2014.
November 10, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Perhaps senators have learned a lesson since that fiasco. Perhaps not.
There is precedent for senators using the leverage of a confirmation hearing to extract an OLC memo from an administration as recently as 2014.
There is precedent for senators using the leverage of a confirmation hearing to extract an OLC memo from an administration as recently as 2014.
And they should tell him to stuff it, even if that means tossing OLC papers in the dumpster.
November 10, 2026 at 3:12 PM
And they should tell him to stuff it, even if that means tossing OLC papers in the dumpster.
Who directed the OLC to write this opinion to protect war crimes? This guy should be questioned under oath. Short thread….
bsky.app/profile/carm...
bsky.app/profile/carm...
1) The Head of the Office of Legal Counsel in the US DOJ, Thomas Elliot Gaiser, advises the POTUS and the Executive branch. He wrote an opinion that justifies the series of lethal boat strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. But the opinion is secret!
bsky.app/profile/atru...
bsky.app/profile/atru...
COONS: Why has 'the most transparent dept' refused to release the OLC opinion that justifies the 66 strikes the military has conducted on boats in the Caribbean that have killed more than 220?
BLANCHE: We made the head of OLC available to explain that to you. That's extraordinarily transparent.
BLANCHE: We made the head of OLC available to explain that to you. That's extraordinarily transparent.
November 10, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Who directed the OLC to write this opinion to protect war crimes? This guy should be questioned under oath. Short thread….
bsky.app/profile/carm...
bsky.app/profile/carm...
They should IMMEDIATELY subpoena the OLC for records relating to this threat as soon as possible
PUNCHBOWL: “.. White House counsel warned Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the incoming House Oversight Committee chair, in a new letter that some of the new majority’s investigations could cross the line into criminal behavior.”
@punchbowlnews.bsky.social
punchbowl.news/wh-hill_lett...
@punchbowlnews.bsky.social
punchbowl.news/wh-hill_lett...
November 11, 2026 at 7:10 PM
They should IMMEDIATELY subpoena the OLC for records relating to this threat as soon as possible
Have any GOP senators called for the release of that OLC opinion? I can’t find any on a quick search. Obviously that might (or might not) change in the wake of this nomination.
November 9, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Have any GOP senators called for the release of that OLC opinion? I can’t find any on a quick search. Obviously that might (or might not) change in the wake of this nomination.
Twelve years ago the Senate conditioned David Barron's confirmation to the First Circuit on the Obama admin's agreement not to appeal a ruling requiring the disclosure of the al-Aulaqi memo, which Barron had signed as head of OLC.
November 9, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Twelve years ago the Senate conditioned David Barron's confirmation to the First Circuit on the Obama admin's agreement not to appeal a ruling requiring the disclosure of the al-Aulaqi memo, which Barron had signed as head of OLC.
Yes, indeed, although it would have been more directed at statutory ambiguities, but as @beaubaumann.bsky.social has literally writtten, Congress used to have its own OLC, that would issue its opinions on constitutional issues.
November 8, 2026 at 4:30 AM
Yes, indeed, although it would have been more directed at statutory ambiguities, but as @beaubaumann.bsky.social has literally writtten, Congress used to have its own OLC, that would issue its opinions on constitutional issues.
True. It is safe to say one of the worst opinions ever written on OLC letterhead. It could not withstand scrutiny in court.
I mean that literally.⬇️
American Historical Association v. Trump
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
I mean that literally.⬇️
American Historical Association v. Trump
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 9, 2026 at 9:09 PM
True. It is safe to say one of the worst opinions ever written on OLC letterhead. It could not withstand scrutiny in court.
I mean that literally.⬇️
American Historical Association v. Trump
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
I mean that literally.⬇️
American Historical Association v. Trump
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Presumably he'll only depart OLC if confirmed by the Senate for the judgeship.
November 9, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Presumably he'll only depart OLC if confirmed by the Senate for the judgeship.
If now-departing OLC head wrote a (still undisclosed) disbar-able memo ok'g illegal boat strikes, the federal bench (as for Bove) is the perfect soft landing. Bar membership for fed judges not required. Related, Massie's Hegseth impeachment incls articles accusing SecDef of war crimes for just this.
November 9, 2026 at 4:07 PM
If now-departing OLC head wrote a (still undisclosed) disbar-able memo ok'g illegal boat strikes, the federal bench (as for Bove) is the perfect soft landing. Bar membership for fed judges not required. Related, Massie's Hegseth impeachment incls articles accusing SecDef of war crimes for just this.