The Other Memo Lawmakers Want the Public to See — But Trump Doesn’t

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website February 9, 2018:

The White House has shrouded a seven-page memo outlining POTUS’ interpretation of war powers

Sens. Kaine, D-Va., right, and Flake, R-Ariz., conduct a news conference in the Capitol to introduce an authorization for use of military force (AUMF) against ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban in May 2017. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo

Sen. Tim Kaine is demanding that the White House release a secret memo outlining President Donald Trump’s interpretation of his legal basis to wage war.

The Virginia Democrat, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday requesting that he hand over the seven-page document drafted last spring.

Kaine’s concern with the memo stems from the president’s unilateral decision last April to strike a Syrian airfield with Tomahawk missiles worth millions of dollars in response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad using chemical weapons on his own people. Continue reading “The Other Memo Lawmakers Want the Public to See — But Trump Doesn’t”