President Donald Trump decreed on Sunday that his Twitter posts should be seen as notifications to Congress, but the House Foreign Affairs Committee was not amused.
When Trump ordered the airstrike that killed Iranian General Qasem Suleimani, he violated the War Powers Act by failing to notify or consult Congress, which means he broke the law. He broke it again by sending 3,000 troops to the Middle East, again without consulting Congress, which is supposed to approve or deny his action.
By acting unilaterally, Trump is acting like a dictator and ignoring the separation of powers and the equal branches of government.
Trump would go on to mock the War Powers Act and Congress on Sunday afternoon by tweeting that his social media posts are sufficient notification and falsely claimed that such legal notice of his actions is not required.
These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2020
Again, the War Powers Act requires that Congress receive legal notice. And frankly, a tweet is not even close to being legal notice, especially when it is only posted after an incident takes place.
Basically, Trump is telling all lawmakers that they must follow him on Twitter if they want to know what’s going on, and that’s unacceptable.
The House Foreign Intelligence Committee certainly thought so, which is why the committee issued their own legal notice on Twitter.
This Media Post will serve as a reminder that war powers reside in the Congress under the United States Constitution. And that you should read the War Powers Act. And that you’re not a dictator. https://t.co/VTroMegWv0
— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) January 5, 2020
It should be pointed out that Trump’s violation of the War Powers Act is yet another impeachable offense. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has already been considering more articles of impeachment. This one would be a slam dunk.
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