Is Trump Committing War Crimes? Lawrence Douglas on Hegseth, Nuremberg, and the Criminal State

The Oath and The Office

Corey Brettschneider

Government, News, Politics

4.9 • 591 Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2026

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Can a president commit war crimes? Can a defense secretary? And what would it take to hold either one accountable?

Corey Brettschneider and John Fugelsang open with the Supreme Court showdown over Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship. After Trump became the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the Court, Solicitor General D. John Sauer faced tough questioning from several justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, who delivered the line of the day: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.” Corey and John break down why the administration’s argument looked weak, why Wong Kim Ark remains the key precedent, and what the hearing may signal about the fate of Trump’s effort to gut birthright citizenship.

They also discuss the latest chaos inside Trump’s Justice Department after Pam Bondi was pushed out as attorney general and replaced, for now, by Todd Blanche, another Trump loyalist. From there, they turn to the Supreme Court’s move that could wipe away Steve Bannon’s contempt conviction, and what it says about accountability in Trump’s Washington.

Then Corey and John are joined by Lawrence Douglas of Amherst College, professor of law, jurisprudence, and social thought, and author of "The Criminal State", for a chilling conversation about whether Trump is committing war crimes, whether Pete Hegseth could face exposure as a war criminal, and how leaders who authorize brutality can be held to account. They explore the continuing relevance of Nuremberg, the legal meaning of crimes carried out by the state, and whether American institutions still have the power to confront criminality at the top. This is a sober, urgent discussion about impunity, presidential violence, and the future of the rule of law

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of The Oath in the Office is sponsored by the ACLU.
0:04.0	Welcome to the Oath and the Office podcast. I am John Fuglesang in this week's episode of
0:21.7	The Constitution is fine until it applies to me. Donald Trump decided the 14th Amendment
0:27.2	to your Constitution is basically optional. You know, it's like a hotel mini bar charge.
0:32.3	You just have to dispute loudly enough. So please welcome the star of our show, the author of The Oath and the Office.
0:38.9	Professor Corey Brechtnyder. Professor, it's good to see you. Thanks so much, John. What a pleasure
0:43.8	to speak with you despite the attack on our democracy that's just getting worse and worse.
0:49.3	And there is some hope in that birthright citizenship case that we'll talk about. The Supreme Court
0:53.4	did push back. We'll go in depth on that. But of course, today the president really is threatening
0:58.7	war crimes explicitly on truth social. And we happen to have a guest with us, Lawrence Douglas,
1:05.1	who's going to talk about the history of war crimes and try to help us to use history and
1:10.1	the idea of international law to get a grip on
1:13.0	what's happening. It's frightening, but I'm glad to be having this conversation with you and with
1:17.1	our guests and to be working through this true crisis that we're living through together.
1:22.2	Yeah, me too. What an Easter basket to get on that morning. I mean, I'm very glad Professor Douglas is joining us.
1:28.9	His book is called The Criminal State, War, Atrocity, and the Dream of International Justice.
1:34.2	And what convenient booking the same week our president decides to start threatening war crimes and genocide via public post on Easter Sunday morning. My God. And I want to remind everyone,
1:46.4	we love to get your letters here. Any questions or comments or threats you have about constitutional
1:51.1	law? And please subscribe to the podcast. We always say that at the end. But let's say at this time,
1:55.6	if you like us, if you learn a lot from Corey like I do, that'll help you cheat on your bar exam.
2:01.2	Subscribe us and share with your friends.
2:03.3	Professor, I got to talk to you about what's going on here with the 14th Amendment case.
	...

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