Democratic Senators decried the legal justification for the capture of Nicolas Maduro as a “sham,” after they were allowed to review the Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion in a classified setting.
Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark Warner told reporters, “I think it falls short,” and Sen. Adam Schiff added, “The reasoning was very unpersuasive. Even if you indulge all the assumptions in the administration’s favor, it’s still completely unpersuasive. But I think you can get a lawyer to write any opinion you want in this administration.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said, “the legal opinion, that’s the basis for this operation, is an absolute sham. The American people deserve to see it. I’ve read it, and I would give it a failing grade to a first-year law school student.”
GOP Sen. Rand Paul, who has been sharply critical of the administration’s actions in Venezuela, also wasn’t satisfied by the opinion. “Legal arguments and constitutional arguments should all be public, and it’s a terrible thing that any of this is being kept secret because the arguments aren’t very good,” he said.
However, Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt said it was a “very solid” legal opinion.
“It’s a law enforcement action. I mean, very clearly, through precedent, the president has authority to have military support of a law enforcement operation, so I don’t think a close call. You may disagree with the, like, policy of it or the operation itself or something, but as far as legal justification, it’s very solid,” he argued.