A Yale Law School professor who has spent more than two decades advising the U.S. State Department on international law is now publicly accusing President Donald Trump of waging an “illegal war” against Iran while continuing to serve on a State Department advisory committee.
Oona A. Hathaway, a professor at Yale Law School and Executive Editor at Just Security, recently published a lengthy anti-Trump rant claiming President Trump violated the Constitution, U.S. law, and the United Nations Charter through military action against Iran.
Hathaway has served since 2005 on the State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Law for the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, according to her official biography and federal advisory records.
Her article, published by Just Security, repeatedly attacks President Trump’s authority as Commander-in-Chief and portrays American military action as illegitimate under both domestic and international law.
“Trump’s war with Iran violated the U.S. Constitution and the UN Charter,” Hathaway wrote.
She described the conflict as a “doubly illegal war” and warned it could become “triply illegal” if military operations continue beyond the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day window. President Trump knows this, which is why he told Congress the war was over before he breached the 60-day window.
Hathaway compares President Trump’s decision-making authority to authoritarianism itself, writing that “democracy… is incompatible with the ‘one man decides’ model,” echoing Democrat talking points that President Trump is an authoritarian. She also labels the U.S. military operation against Iran “a war of aggression,” language commonly associated with left-wing anti-American activists and international tribunals hostile to U.S. sovereignty.
Perhaps most outrageously, Hathaway invokes the United Nations Charter against the United States while serving on a State Department advisory body tasked with advising the U.S. government on international law matters.
Her argument hinges on three claims. First, she argues that President Trump lacked congressional authorization for military action against Iran. Second, she claims the operation violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter because it allegedly did not meet the standard for lawful self-defense. Third, she argues continued military operations past the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day deadline would render the conflict “triply illegal.”
Hathaway also attacks Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the piece for defending the administration’s interpretation of the War Powers Resolution, dismissing the administration’s legal position as “impossible” and “not serious.” Perhaps Hathaway raised her concerns with other committee members, but instead of keeping her views private, she decided to publicly stab President Trump in the back in a media outlet she edits. If that was her motivation, she made a huge mistake.
The issue here is that an individual serving on a State Department advisory committee is publicly accusing the sitting President of the United States of illegal warfare while echoing the rhetoric of global governance institutions that have increasingly targeted nationalist leaders and American allies.
Her rhetoric raises serious questions about whether she supports the growing international lawfare movement against Western leaders. Hathaway’s repeated emphasis on “wars of aggression” and the authority of international legal bodies comes as the International Criminal Court has pursued politically charged cases against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of President Trump.
The State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Law is supposed to advise the federal government on matters impacting American foreign policy and legal strategy. Instead, it appears the committee has become another refuge for entrenched anti-Trump ideologues embedded inside the administrative state.
Hathaway previously served as Special Counsel to the General Counsel at the Department of Defense during the Obama administration. She is President of the American Society of International Law and has spent years promoting expansive international legal frameworks that undermine American sovereignty in favor of transnational governance systems.
The American people elected President Trump to dismantle the entrenched administrative state and restore an America First foreign policy. They did not vote to preserve taxpayer-funded advisory boards staffed with individuals who openly undermine the Commander-in-Chief during an ongoing geopolitical conflict.
This isn’t the first time Hathaway has publicly attacked the Trump Administration over the Iran war. She recently signed an open letter along with 100+ international law “experts” expressing “profound concern… [about] serious violations of international law and alarming rhetoric.” Her Yale webpage features a whole slew of articles attacking the Trump administration, all featuring her quotes, writing, or interviews on various foreign policy topics.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio should immediately review Hathaway’s continued role on the State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Law and determine whether someone publicly accusing the President of illegal warfare can credibly continue serving in an advisory capacity tied to U.S. foreign policy.
There also needs to be a broader investigation into how many similar anti-Trump activists remain embedded throughout federal advisory committees and national security institutions, including those who signed the open letter.
If a Yale professor serving on a State Department advisory committee feels comfortable publicly attacking the President using the language of international lawfare and global governance, Americans should ask how many more ideologues inside the system are quietly working against the administration and US foreign policy from within.
