Thread — On potential war crimes charges against US officials for supporting Saudi Arabia in the Yemen war: House lawmakers have released an important affidavit from Michael F. Miller, a career State Dept. official who helps oversee arms sales. Full doc: https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/_cache/files/d/2/d290e3bf-1c5b-466f-9b1e-c8aced4ad9b4/6BD4E9EA34A200CF5DF140BF240DF8F0.hfac-michael-miller-affidavit-1027-2020-003-redacted.pdf

2. Miller confirms State Dept. lawyers issued a 2016 “formal foundational document" that remains “the most authoritative legal assessment on this matter.” We wrote about the key memo and the controversy in the Trump administration in this detailed story: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/us/politics/us-war-crimes-yemen-saudi-arabia.html

3. Miller & colleagues involved in arms sales wanted updated legal guidance from the State Dept. given the ongoing civilian killings by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Legal risks to US officials were growing. But senior officials under @SecPompeo didn't update the guidance.

4. Pompeo announced an "emergency" over Iran in May 2019 to bypass a Congressional freeze on arms sales. Miller said the legal memo "was most likely a topic of attention" in the internal discussions leading to that move. State IG Steve Linick investigated the action last year.

5. Linick told Marik String, State Dept. legal adviser, that he wanted to ask Pompeo about mitigation efforts around civilian casualties, according to Oct. letter from State OIG to @HouseForeign. Whether US does mitigation is central to legal risk issue. https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/_cache/files/d/2/d290e3bf-1c5b-466f-9b1e-c8aced4ad9b4/6BD4E9EA34A200CF5DF140BF240DF8F0.hfac-michael-miller-affidavit-1027-2020-003-redacted.pdf

6. Linick found State officials under Pompeo had failed to address legal risks and update a strategy to lessen civilian casualties. Trump fired him in May at Pompeo's urging. OIG report released in Aug. had the finding, but State ensured key details were classified and redacted.

7. "If I were in the State Department, I would be freaking out about my potential for liability. I think anyone who’s involved in this program should get themselves a lawyer," @oonahathaway told us. Hathaway is a Yale law professor who worked at DoD. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/us/politics/us-war-crimes-yemen-saudi-arabia.html

8. @RepEliotEngel said Miller's affidavit shows Pompeo "ignored the department's own warnings that he and those who work for him could be implicated in war crimes by fueling the slaughter of civilians in Yemen." State Dept. has said US tries to lessen civilian casualties.

9. Brian Finucane, a State Dept. lawyer, spoke of legal risks to US officials at a Yale forum in 2018. Avril Haines, Biden's nominee for DNI, also spoke there. @wstrobel @JonathanLanday wrote about concerns in 2016 for Reuters. @just_security @rgoodlaw have examined the issue.

10. If the original link to the Michael Miller affidavit on @HouseForeign site is down, here is a new link to the full doc: https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/_cache/files/2/b/2b887527-1a7c-4098-b2e1-d6f644d7f265/DDCB21074FE52FBE39840775AB1E7D8D.hfac-michael-miller-affidavit-1027-2020-003-redacted.pdf