There was no "imminent threat" that justified the assassination of an Iranian general without Congressional approval - no one in the administration can cite one. The story keeps shifting, and today DOD Secretary Esper admitted that there was no evidence to back Trump's new claims that 4 embassies were going to be attacked, stating that this was what Trump BELIEVED. Which is a polite way of saying he just made it up.
Esper gets the daily security briefings that Trump reportedly can't be bothered to read. If there's no information about an imminent threat in the briefing that Esper relies upon, where is Trump getting his information from? Sean Hannity? Fox & Friends? It's certainly not from the US Intelligence Community.
To be clear, my problem is NOT that the General was assassinated, it's that Congress was not consulted and there was no imminent threat. We're a nation of laws; we don't kill people just because we don't like them, there's a process to get to that decision. A President does not have the right to commit acts of war unless Congress gives its approval. He is Commander-in-Chief but doesn't have unrestrained powers. When Obama ordered the hits on bin Laden and his lieutenant, he did so under an authorization passed by Congress during the Bush administration - he didn't do it just because he wanted to.
What Trump did was way beyond what the Constitution empowers him to do. He has never read the Constitution, doesn't understand his job, and thinks he can do anything he wants to do. This is a President who is totally out of control. Even if you're a Trump supporter, READ the Constitution to learn what he can and cannot do - he's not a king, there are limits on his power. |
