Jack Goldsmith
American legal scholar; Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel from 2003 to 2004. Writes Executive Functions with Bob Bauer on presidential power.
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What they believe
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The Trump administration's use of government power is intended to impose as much pain as possible on its enemies.
The aim has been to use every tool of government power-prosecutions, investigations, raids, arrests, firings, funding and benefit cutoffs, threats of all of these things, other sorts of threats, and harsh government speech that riles up crowds of minatory supporters-in an effort to impose as much pain as possible on enemies, broadly conceived.
execfunctions.orgSaid 19 Oct 2026This on korrents
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Inspectors General can facilitate executive branch accountability even under a unitary executive.
And yet IGs can still facilitate executive branch accountability, as two recent IG reports-from the Trump-appointed, Senate-confirmed Pentagon IG, and the non-confirmed Federal Reserve IG-illustrate.
execfunctions.orgSaid 5 Oct 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 12 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
The Trump administration's use of government power is intended to impose as much pain as possible on its enemies.
The aim has been to use every tool of government power-prosecutions, investigations, raids, arrests, firings, funding and benefit cutoffs, threats of all of these things, other sorts of threats, and harsh government speech that riles up crowds of minatory supporters-in an effort to impose as much pain as possible on enemies, broadly conceived.
Senator Slotkin’s Imprudent Remarks and Republicans’ Hypocritical Reactions Said 19 Oct 2026
A significant portion of the Trump administration's weaponization strategy is designed to achieve deterrence.
I am confident that a good chunk of the Trump weaponization strategy is to achieve deterrence of just these sorts.
Senator Slotkin’s Imprudent Remarks and Republicans’ Hypocritical Reactions Said 19 Oct 2026
The incentive for brutal retaliation will be overwhelming for the next Democratic administration.
The incentive for brutal retaliation will be overwhelming, especially since it will be argued, just as Vance argued, that the other side has already done it, will do it again if possible, and thus must be maximally deterred.
Senator Slotkin’s Imprudent Remarks and Republicans’ Hypocritical Reactions Said 19 Oct 2026
Show 9 more
Inspectors General can facilitate executive branch accountability even under a unitary executive.
And yet IGs can still facilitate executive branch accountability, as two recent IG reports-from the Trump-appointed, Senate-confirmed Pentagon IG, and the non-confirmed Federal Reserve IG-illustrate.
Inspectors General Live! Said 5 Oct 2026
The Trump administration has succeeded in chilling most Inspectors General from robustly pursuing abuse and fraud.
And as a general matter the Trump administration has succeeded in chilling most IGs around the government from robustly pursuing abuse and fraud within their agencies.
Inspectors General Live! Said 5 Oct 2026
Inspectors General remain useful to actors inside the executive branch and in Congress despite a lack of formal independence.
IGs remain useful to many actors inside the executive branch and in Congress, and that usefulness can empower them politically even if they lack formal independence within the executive branch.
Inspectors General Live! Said 5 Oct 2026
The 2001 AUMF is no longer practically important for uses of force against current or future terrorist organizations.
But for uses of force against these organizations, and for all future threatening terrorist organizations, the AUMF is no longer practically important.
The 25th Anniversary of the 2001 AUMF Said 14 Sept 2026
The president has sufficient Article II authority to continue using force against all current terrorist threats even if the 2001 AUMF were repealed.
Put another way, if Congress abrogated the 2001 AUMF tomorrow, the president would have all of the authority he needs under Article II to continue using force against all current terrorist threats around the globe.
The 25th Anniversary of the 2001 AUMF Said 14 Sept 2026
AUMF reform is largely unnecessary due to the continual expansion of presidential Article II war powers.
That said, and second, AUMF reform is now largely beside the point in light of the president's continual expansion of his Article II war powers.
The 25th Anniversary of the 2001 AUMF Said 14 Sept 2026
The president has the Article II power to direct a prosecution.
And with the norm rejected, as a matter of Article II power, it is right: the president can direct a prosecution.
The Unitary Executive and Comey’s Vindictive Prosecution Claim Said 28 Aug 2026
The unitary executive does not excuse executive branch actions that violate the First Amendment or equal protection and due process principles.
The unitary executive justifies vertical presidential control within the executive branch. It does not excuse executive branch actions that (as Comey alleges) violate the First Amendment or equal protection and due process principles.
The Unitary Executive and Comey’s Vindictive Prosecution Claim Said 28 Aug 2026
Legal hurdles to inferring a prosecutor's vindictiveness from a president's vindictiveness should be lowered due to extreme claims of unitariness.
Any legal hurdle to inferring the vindictiveness of this charging prosecutor from the vindictiveness of this president should be lowered, if not eliminated, by the Trump administration's unprecedentedly extreme claims of unitariness.
The Unitary Executive and Comey’s Vindictive Prosecution Claim Said 28 Aug 2026
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Where they publish
Site jackgoldsmith.org His site: recent papers, essays and links to his Executive Functions posts.
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
Newsletter Executive Functions Essays and podcast episodes on presidential power, co-written with Bob Bauer; each post is bylined.
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
x.com @jacklgoldsmith His X account.
Link verified 24 Oct 2026.
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