Senators criticize Trump administration after Democrats excluded from drug boat strike briefing

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers from both parties criticized the Trump administration after not inviting Democrats to a news conference Wednesday about U.S. military strikes on alleged boats carrying drugs.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, told reporters at a news conference at the Capitol on Thursday that the partisan briefing was a “new low” for the administration.

“This is not how the system is supposed to work,” he added.

The Trump administration has launched at least 14 strikes on ships it claims are involved in drug trafficking since early September. In recent weeks, calls for transparency in the strikes have increased from members of Congress, including Trump allies.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Democrats were “deprived of basic information about these airstrikes. From everything we’ve been told, there are very serious questions about the legality of these strikes.”

Several Republican senators told NBC News that Democrats should have been included in the meeting.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-D., said it was an “unfortunate situation” that Democrats were not briefed, but he believes they will be included in future briefings.

He added: “I hope it doesn’t happen this way.” “It has happened, but I have already spoken with a number of my colleagues and told them that we still agree that this should be done on a bipartisan basis.”

Gwalt also said that based on the briefing, he believed the strikes were legal.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., also said Democrats should have been briefed on the matter.

“I don’t think any administration should exclude any party from a briefing of this level of importance,” he said, adding, “I think all of that should be available to the people they supervise.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, said it “would not be appropriate” for Democrats not to be informed and that “the goal is to keep everyone informed, not just Republicans.”

Warner said he was angered to learn that the administration shared its legal justification for the strikes during the news conference, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio had “personally promised” him that information would be shared with the bipartisan Gang of Eight, which has not yet happened.

Asked by NBC News if he had been given an explanation for why Democrats were excluded, Warner said: “We got a clumsy response: ‘Oh, maybe you’re right.'” …I say bulls—.”

The White House accused Democrats of “pushing false claims about the administration’s efforts to kill drug terrorists to distract attention from their decision to shut down the government and force federal employees and military service members to work without pay.”

“The War Department has held nine bipartisan briefings on drug-related terrorist attacks, and additional bipartisan briefings are scheduled, working individually through requests from the Hill,” White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement. “It is pathetic that these Democrats care more about covering up foreign drug traffickers and illegal immigrants seeking taxpayer-funded health care than they do about paying federal employees and protecting American citizens from deadly drugs.”

Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, also said he disagreed with the premise that Democrats were left out because Democrats “are free to do what they want to do. They can ask for a briefing, just like we had.”

“Those of us on the Intelligence Committee, whether Republicans or Democrats, can get briefings anytime we want on these matters,” Risch said. “It’s not unusual for us to request briefings individually or as a group, or as Republicans. Democrats are doing the same thing.”

Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee held a classified, bipartisan briefing on the strikes on Thursday. But Democratic committee member Jason Crow, of Colorado, told NBC News that Pentagon lawyers were pulled from the conference at the last minute, so members didn’t get any legal justification for the raids, which left him “unsatisfied.”

Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement that Thursday’s briefing was “unbelievable because of how little information was shared, how little time the briefers had to answer questions, and the complete absence of any credible legal justification for the administration’s continued unauthorized expansion of these strikes.”