View the full interview HERE.
“I want to express my gratitude that the pilots are all out safely, and acknowledge the skill, the bravery, and the professionalism of all the military forces that were engaged in this military operation. But it’s not an operation that should have ever been authorized by the president in the absence of intelligence showing that Iran had made the decision to break out and build a bomb.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined CNN’s State of the Union with guest anchor Kasie Hunt to react to President Donald Trump’s unconstitutional decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites without congressional authorization.
Key Excerpts:
On Trump’s unconstitutional U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites:
[…] I want to express my gratitude that the pilots are all out safely, and acknowledge the skill, the bravery, and the professionalism of all the military forces that were engaged in this military operation. But it’s not an operation that should have ever been authorized by the president in the absence of intelligence showing that Iran had made the decision to break out and build a bomb. The intelligence I’ve seen, and it’s been limited, indicates that Iran had certainly enriched uranium, but had not made the decision to build a bomb or pursue the mechanism of a bomb. And in the absence of that, this is not a strike that should have been ordered.
In watching Hegseth during that press conference this morning, we saw a lot of arrogance from the Defense Secretary. And as wars in the Middle East have demonstrated, arrogance is a deadly commodity. We simply don’t know what is going to occur now, whether Iran will retaliate, whether Iran was able to evacuate some of the enriched material from Fordow. There were commercial satellite images of trucks lined up at Fordow and leaving Fordow in the days preceding the strike. So, a lot of questions, including the risk to American service members. In terms of is there anything positive to come out of it? Yes. The destruction of these facilities is a positive in the sense that it will set back Iran’s program. And, look, this is a nefarious regime that is the preeminent state sponsor of terror. It should have never been pursuing a nuclear program. But it is very possible — and I think we have to anticipate — Iran now kicks out any inspectors. It leaves the Non-Proliferation Treaty. And if it wasn’t in a sprint for a bomb, it is now going to engage in a sprint for the bomb. So, a lot of uncertainty.
[…] Finally, this was not constitutional, it was not lawful in the absence of a declaration by Congress. And so the administration should have come to Congress. We will have a vote on a War Powers Resolution. But there’s a reason to bring this to Congress, and it is you want the Congress bought in, you want the American people bought in on an action this substantial that could lead to a major outbreak of war.
On calls for impeachment:
We’ve seen what a high bar there is to impeachment when one party in Congress, the Republican Party, is willing to work completely in lockstep with the president. I think the better remedy, frankly, is if Republicans will show any backbone whatsoever, is to pass a War Powers Resolution to prevent any further military action that is not purely defensive, that is designed to protect service members’ lives, American lives, and our interests. That, to me, ought to be the most immediate step.
On demanding answers from the administration:
[…] You don’t want to take an action like this without a strong basis. That is that Iran was imminently pursuing a bomb, and we simply don’t have that intelligence — or if we do — it hasn’t been shared with the Congress. And that last question asked of Hegseth at the press conference indicates he doesn’t know either. He was asked, “Do we have some new intelligence? Is it our own intelligence, or are we relying on Israeli intelligence for the conclusion that we had to take this strike now?” And he simply said, “Well, the president looked at everything.” That’s really not an answer, but we will demand answers this week when we’re briefed. In the absence of it, though, and not knowing what the future will bring and the consequences, this is an order that should not have been given.
On the failure to brief Democratic lawmakers:
[…] The failure to brief Democratic lawmakers, the making this just another partisan exercise by the administration when it comes to something as serious as the decision to potentially engage in warfare with another nation, it means that you’re not going to have the whole country bought into this, which is a real problem. If everything goes well, then maybe it works out fine, in the sense of not being an issue that tears apart the American people. But if things don’t go well, if Iran retaliates, if we get in an escalating war with Iran, and you don’t have the country bought in, because the president didn’t seek the approval of Congress, because he didn’t make the case to the American people, because he didn’t even inform one of the parties in Congress, that’s when you have a real problem engaging in warfare on a partisan basis. So, a lot of risks here for the country, which is the reason why you come to Congress in the first place. It is the reason why our Constitution says Congress has the power to declare war, not the president.
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