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Top Democrat blasts Trump's 'false' justification for Soleimani killing

"As Tensions With Iran Escalated, Trump Opted for Most Extreme Measure
"The Latest: Iraq parliament votes to expel US military""

The administration highlighted the 2002 authorization passed ahead of the invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.


House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

By CONNOR O’BRIEN

02/14/2020 11:50 AM EST

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel .. https://cd.politicopro.com/member/51370 .. slammed the Trump administration Friday over last month's killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, arguing a new report justifying the attack undermines the argument that the operation was in response to an imminent threat.

"The administration’s explanation in this report makes no mention of any imminent threat and shows that the justification the President offered to the American people was false, plain and simple," Engel said in a statement.

"To make matters worse, to avoid having to justify its actions to Congress, the administration falsely claims Congress had already authorized the strike under the 2002 Iraq war resolution," the New York Democrat added. "This legal theory is absurd."

The justification, submitted by the Trump administration to Congress .. https://subscriber.politicopro.com/f/?id=00000170-4475-d3ac-abff-ecffae150000 , invokes President Donald Trump's authority to defend the U.S. under Article 2 of the Constitution, though it makes no reference to specific threats.

The administration also highlighted the 2002 authorization passed ahead of the invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, which it argued also "may address threats to the United States posed by militias, terrorist groups, or other armed groups in Iraq."

"The airstrike against Soleimani in Iraq is consistent with this longstanding interpretation of the President's authority under Article II and the 2002 AUMF," the administration argued.

"Iran's past and recent activities, coupled with intelligence at the time of the air strike, indicated that Iran's Qods Force posed a threat to the United States in Iraq, and the air strike against Soleimani was intended to protect United States personnel and deter future Iranian attack plans against United States forces and interest in Iraq and threats emanating from Iraq," it said.

Congressional Democrats, and even some Republicans, have complained top administration officials haven't adequately outlined the imminent threat that justified the provocative move of killing Soleimani or shown an adequate legal justification.

"This spurious, after-the-fact explanation won’t do," Engel added of the report.

After weeks of wrangling with House Democrats, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to testify at a Feb. 28 Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Iran and Iraq policy, which the chairman said will cover "the Soleimani strike and war powers."

Lawmakers in both chambers have rebuked Trump and sought to limit his war powers in the wake of Soleimani's killing and a retaliatory missile attack by Iran against bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops.

The Senate on Thursday passed a resolution .. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/13/cotton-amendment-war-powers-bill-114815 .. calling for an end to hostilities against Iran without congressional authorization. In addition to passing a war powers resolution, the House has recently voted to cut off funding for offensive military operations against Iran and to repeal the 2002 Iraq war AUMF.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/14/eliot-engel-qassem-soleimani-killing-115237

See also:

REPORT: TRUMP CITED GOP SENATE IMPEACHMENT PRESSURE AS REASON TO KILL SOLEIMANI
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Why ISIS Is Delighted That Suleimani Is Dead
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CIA chief 'behind Soleimani's assassination' killed in downed plane in Afghanistan
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ON THE DAY U.S. FORCES KILLED SOLEIMANI, THEY LAUNCHED ANOTHER RECRET
OPERATION TARGETING A SENIOR IRANIAN OFFICIAL IN YEMEN
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.. 2 in reply ..
Lee Says He Didn’t Hear About Soleimani Threat To Attack Four US Embassies In Briefing
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.. and ..
Trump's Mideast allies duck Iran confrontation
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TRUMP'S DEEPENING IRAN MORASS ALL STARTED WITH ONE BIG LIE
[...]
All this confusion traces back to one of Trump’s biggest lies: The idea that the Iran nuclear agreement constituted a
wretched display of elite failure and American weakness, and that Trump has replaced it with an approach that’s “strong.”
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.. and in reply ..
Trump’s Iran speech seemed like a victory lap. It actually made things worse.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=153196167

Trump's Twitter threats against Iran cultural sites borrow from the ISIS playbook
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=153163597

DOJ drops leak case vs. McCabe, judge said White House involvement like a 'banana republic'
The judge, a George W. Bush appointee, said "the fact that you got somebody at the top basically
trying to dictate whether somebody should be prosecuted" was like a "banana republic."
.. in reply ..

https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=153847659