Natasha Bertrand

Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...

NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...

Trump admin tells Congress it currently lacks legal justification to strike Venezuela | CNN Politics The “execute order” that launched the US military campaign against suspected drug boats in September also does not extend to land targets, the briefers said, according to the sources.

Trump admin officials told Congress that the US is not currently planning to launch strikes inside Venezuela and doesn’t have a legal justification that would support attacks against land targets right now—but they’re seeking one from DOJ, per US official. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/06/p...

Pentagon cleared giving Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles, leaving final decision to Trump | CNN Politics The Pentagon has given the White House the green light to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles after assessing that it would not negatively impact US stockpiles, leaving the final politic...

New: The Pentagon cleared giving Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles after assessing that it would not negatively impact US stockpiles, despite Trump suggesting earlier this month that the US might not have enough to give away. Final decision largely political now. edition.cnn.com/2025/10/31/p...

Exclusive: National Guard orders in DC extended through February 2026 | CNN Politics National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC will remain mobilized in the city at least through February 2026, according to people familiar with the Guard’s orders.

NEW: National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC, will remain mobilized in the city at least through February 2026. Hegseth extended their orders on Monday. edition.cnn.com/2025/10/29/p...

Looking to speed up building network of migrant detention centers, Trump administration turns to the US Navy | CNN Politics The Department of Homeland Security is funneling $10 billion through the Navy to help facilitate the construction of a sprawling network of migrant detention centers across the US in an arrangement ai...

NEW: The Department of Homeland Security is funneling $10 billion through the Navy to help facilitate the construction of a sprawling network of migrant detention centers across the US in an arrangement aimed at getting the centers built faster. www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/p...

Great video by @averyschmitz.bsky.social (with some narration help by me 🤭) taking a look at what the US military has built up in the Caribbean.

Here’s what the US military has positioned in the Caribbean as Trump pressures Venezuela | CNN The US military has been steadily massing a large number of troops, naval and air assets in the Caribbean over the last two months, conducting training missions off the coast of Venezuela, reopening a...

The US military has been steadily massing a large number of troops, naval and air assets in the Caribbean over the last two months. Here’s what’s been positioned as Trump pressures Venezuela (and, increasingly, Colombia): www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/w...

YouTube video by CNN Trump authorizes CIA operations in Venezuela

Great segment here with @rgoodlaw.bsky.social.

Also, important observations from @natashabertrand.bsky.social about the dynamics of lawyering within DoD on the Caribbean strikes, including the sidelining of actual experts and reliance on the OLC license to kill.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L062...

Thank you Brian

At least one US military strike on alleged drug trafficking boat in Caribbean targeted Colombians | CNN Politics At least one US military strike in the Caribbean over the last two months targeted Colombian nationals on a boat that had left from Colombia, according to two people briefed by the Pentagon about the ...

Breaking: At least one US military strike in the Caribbean targeted Colombians on a boat leaving from Colombia, sources tell us.

The deliberate targeting of Colombians suggests the US military’s campaign is wider than previously believed www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/p...

How the Pentagon sidelined lawyers while testing the legal limits of military action | CNN Politics For weeks earlier this year, the Army’s top uniformed lawyer had been raising legal concerns inside the Pentagon about some of the new policies being rolled out dictating how the military can be used ...

NEW: How the Pentagon sidelined lawyers while testing the legal limits of military action
New details here about how the Army’s top uniformed lawyer was fired just weeks after raising concerns about the use of the military domestically and mass firings of DoD employees www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/p...

How the Pentagon sidelined lawyers while testing the legal limits of military action | CNN Politics For weeks earlier this year, the Army’s top uniformed lawyer had been raising legal concerns inside the Pentagon about some of the new policies being rolled out dictating how the military can be used ...

Phenomenal story from @natashabertrand.bsky.social - these lawyers play a vital role in making sure military orders are lawful

Exclusive: Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels, sources say | CNN Politics The Trump administration has produced a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers, according to multiple peop...

New: DOJ has produced a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers—justifying an open-ended war against suspected smugglers, now considered by the US to be enemy combatants. www.cnn.com/2025/10/06/p...

this is wild: while Stephen Miller's guy was in Minnesota for his uncle's funeral, somebody was able to see his entire phone and take pictures of his Signal group chats talking about military deployments to Portland, and brought them to the Strib (gift link: www.startribune.com/trump-offici...)

Trump admin tells Congress the US is in ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels | CNN Politics Trump admin tells Congress the US is in ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels

Trump has determined that the US is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels & deemed them "unlawful combatants," according to the Pentagon. DoD general counsel briefed hill yesterday. The admin has been weighing the combatant designation for months. www.cnn.com/2025/10/02/p...

“It’s about getting the horses into the stable and whipping them into shape,” said a defense official. “And the guys with the stars on their shoulders make for a better audience from an optics standpoint…[message will be] get on board, or potentially have your career shortened.”

Hegseth’s surprise gathering of top military brass is to deliver speech on ‘warrior ethos,’ sources say | CNN Politics Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s surprise gathering of hundreds of generals and admirals in Virginia next week is being called so he can describe the administration’s reinvention of the Department ...

News: Hegseth’s surprise gathering of top military brass in Virginia next week is being called so he can describe the administration’s reinvention of the Department of Defense as the “Department of War” and outline new standards for military personnel, sources say www.cnn.com/2025/09/26/p...

NATO divided on how to respond to repeated Russian incursions | CNN Politics NATO allies are divided over whether the alliance should make it a policy to shoot down Russian jets that violate NATO’s airspace, with some countries including the US, Poland, and Baltic nations sign...

NATO allies are divided over whether to make it a policy to shoot down Russian jets that violate NATO’s airspace, with some countries including the US & Poland signaling that future violations should be met with force, while others, including Germany, urge more restraint. www.cnn.com/2025/09/25/p...

The Pentagon, the Press and the Fight to Control National Security Coverage

“The rules set out by the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seek to establish new constraints on journalists that news organizations consider unconstitutional and at odds with democratic norms.”

Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/u...

Pentagon Expands Its Restrictions on Reporter Access

Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, indicated that the Pentagon’s move here is illegal.

‘This policy operates as a prior restraint on publication which is considered the most serious of First Amendment violations,’ Mr. Stern said.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...

Trump’s New York Times lawsuit struck down for not being ‘short, plain, direct’ | CNN Business In a ruling dripping with derision, a federal judge has rejected President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the Times. Trump has a month to refile.

"In a ruling dripping with derision, a federal judge has rejected President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, asserting that the rambling 85-page suit did not follow federal rules for filing civil complaints." www.cnn.com/2025/09/19/m...

Trump admin has been quietly pushing to retake Afghan base from the Taliban for months, sources say | CNN Politics President Donald Trump has been quietly pushing his national security officials for months to find a way to get Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan back from the Taliban, three people familiar with the mat...

President Trump has been quietly pushing his national security officials for months to find a way to get Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan back from the Taliban, per 3 sources--possibly putting US troops back on the ground there www.cnn.com/2025/09/18/p...

Welcome Zach! so happy to have you!

Secretary of Culture War: How Hegseth wields power at the Pentagon | CNN Politics Army Secretary Dan Driscoll had only been in the job for a matter of days before he angered his new boss, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

NEW: NDAs around the Pentagon, increasingly scarce contact with Congress, a fixation on social media and public image — and a wariness of anyone who threatens it, including the Army secretary.

Secretary of Culture War: How Hegseth wields power at the Pentagon www.cnn.com/2025/09/12/p...

Senior Democrat says Pentagon didn’t present conclusive evidence alleged drug smugglers killed in strike were gang members | CNN Politics Defense Department officials briefing congressional staff on Tuesday about last week’s US military strike on a boat in the Caribbean did not present conclusive evidence that the targets of the attack ...

In briefing to the hill, DoD did not present conclusive evidence that the targets of last week’s attack were members of Tren de Aragua, top Armed Services Dem and sources say. Briefers also acknowledged the boat turned around before being struck. www.cnn.com/2025/09/11/p...

Russia’s drone incursion into Poland marked the first time in its history that NATO planes have shot down potential threats in allied airspace, per NATO spokesperson.

German Patriots in Poland were also placed on alert, he said.

Hegseth in the Oval Office just now says the Pentagon wants "Maximum lethality -- not tepid legality.”

Comes amid questions about the legal authorities the administration relied on to strike a Venezuelan boat it accused of carrying cartel members and drugs.

Trump will sign an executive order tomorrow making the “department of war” the “secondary” name for DoD, until Hegseth can propose a legislative solution for a more permanent change. Hegseth to also be renamed Sec of War…

See you next week, DC… (maybe!!!)

US military deploying over 4,000 additional troops to waters around Latin America as part of Trump’s counter-cartel mission | CNN Politics The US military is deploying more than 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels, two US defense officials tol...

Meanwhile...Breaking: The US military is deploying more than 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels, two US defense officials told CNN. www.cnn.com/2025/08/15/p...