Preview: This War is Obscenely Illegal

Preview: This War is Obscenely Illegal

From Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts by Slate Podcasts

March 2, 2026 · 8 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the legal implications of Trump's actions in Iran and the need for Congress to reclaim its war powers.

Trump’s actions in Iran have massive global impacts, but they also have serious legal implications. On this extra episode of Amicus, exclusive to our Plus members, Mark Joseph Stern is joined by military law expert Eugene Fidell, a visiting lecturer and senior research scholar at Yale Law School. Their conversation focuses on constitutional constraints, the role of Congress, and the principles of international law, and emphasizes the need for Congress to reclaim its war powers. While it seems like real consequences are unlikely for those responsible for flouting these laws, there are serious implications for American democracy. Fidell explains why he’s calling for impeachment as a response to these unconstitutional actions––even if such a move is very unlikely to succeed.  This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock weekly bonus episodes of Amicus—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See…

People in this episode

Guests: Mark Joseph Stern, Eugene Fidell

Topics covered

  • Trump
  • Iran
  • war powers
  • constitutional law
  • impeachment
  • international law
  • American democracy

Keywords

  • Trump
  • Iran
  • war powers
  • impeachment
  • constitutional law
  • international law
  • American democracy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Yale Law School, Slate Plus, Slate Podcasts

Places: Iran, American

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