Sen. Mark Warner criticized the Trump administration for excluding Democrats from briefings on U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Warner said the partisan "stunt" is a "slap in the face" to Congress’ war powers responsibilities and to the men and women in uniform. He also stressed that it sets a "reckless and deeply troubling precedent."
Reports indicate that the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) produced a legal opinion justifying the strikes, which Democrats have been demanding in recent weeks.
"The administration must immediately provide to Democrats the same briefing and the OLC opinion justifying these strikes, as Secretary Rubio personally promised me that he would in a face-to-face meeting on Capitol Hill just last week," Warner said in his statement. "Americans deserve a government that fulfills its constitutional duties and treats decisions about the use of military force with the seriousness they demand."
The Pentagon, responding to Warner’s criticism, claimed that the "appropriate" committees were briefed on the strikes.
"The Department of War has briefed the appropriate committees of jurisdiction, including the Senate Intelligence committee, numerous times throughout the operations targeting narco-terrorists," Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement. "These have occurred on a bipartisan basis, and will continue as such."
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The Pentagon claimed that the "appropriate" committees were briefed on the strikes. (Reuters)
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This comes as Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced the U.S. military on Wednesday struck another boat carrying people he said were narco-terrorists. The strikes were carried out in the Eastern Pacific region at the direction of President Donald Trump, killing four men on board.
That was the 14th strike on suspected drug boats carried out since September. A total of 61 have reportedly been killed while three survived, including at least two who were later repatriated to their home countries.
The Pentagon has not released the identities of those killed or evidence that drugs were on board.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-warner-blasts-trump-admin-excluding-democrats-from-briefings-boat-strikes-deeply-troubling