THE MADURO RAID IS AN EMBARRASSMENT FOR THE SUPREME COURT, notes Josh Blackman:

From a legal perspective, I do not have much to add to what Jack Goldsmith wrote about the operation. We can safely ignore any arguments about the U.N. Charter.

Instead, it is useful to revisit A.A.R.P. v. Trump in light of United States v. Maduro. When Trump first began the efforts to remove alleged members of Tren De Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act, all the usual suspects laughed at him. They alleged there was no real national security concern. They charged Trump (once again) with racism and bigotry. Judge Boasberg ordered the planes to turn around from his vacation home, no doubt, because he thought the entire operation was a sham. If Boasberg thought this was a serious national security procedure, he likely would have not been so eager to intervene. Lawyers told federal judges in Texas that there was not really an armed conflict. (The upcoming Fifth Circuit en banc argument should be lit.) The United States Supreme Court, including all three Trump appointees, rejected the President’s powers on the emergency docket without even waiting for the lower court to rule.

In reality, the Trump Administration has been planning a months-long framework concerning Venezuela and Maduro. No one, not even the enlightened Judge Boasberg, is privy to all of those details. Indeed, I suspect the lawyers who are asked to argue in D.D.C. are not always told the full story. In this case, we witnessed Lawfare at its worst because it directly affected national security. Thankfully, Judge Boabserg did not order the 150 aircraft to turn around.

Justices have traditionally feared to tread in national security fields because they know they’re ignorant of important facts and policies. They should go back to that tradition.