In the wake of the U.S. strikes on Iran, host Bill Maher welcomed Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to Friday’s episode of “Real Time.” During the panel discussion, the topic turned to the strikes. That’s when Maher seemed to set a trap for the California senator.
Reading from a Department of Justice memorandum opinion on presidential authorization to use military force, Maher began, “The president had the constitutional authority to direct the use of military force […] because he could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest.”
Maher then revealed the source of the quote.
Maher then asked Schiff whether the reasoning was sufficient.
“That’s too vague for you?” Maher asked.
“Totally vague,” Schiff responded, seemingly still thinking this was a quote from the Trump administration
Maher then revealed the source of the quote.
“OK, because that’s from Obama about Libya,” Maher said, catching Schiff off guard after using a trick question.
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The statement referred to the legal justification used by the Obama administration when the U.S. joined NATO military operations in Libya in 2011. However, Schiff didn’t know Maher was quoting Obama but assumed the words came from Trump after the recent attacks on Iran.
When Schiff realized the words weren’t Trump’s, he justified Obama’s words and shifted by discussing another debate during the Obama presidency over potential U.S. military action in Syria.
“Well, Obama made the argument initially that he could go into Syria without authorization. I and many others pushed back on that argument. Ultimately, he did not go forward with going after Assad, even though Assad was gassing his own people, because he thought he might lose the vote in Congress,” Schiff said.
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The senator argued that Congress must reassert its constitutional authority over decisions to go to war during Trump’s administration but never criticized the statement Obama made.
“We are unquestionably at war now. The founders made an extraordinary decision at the time, which was not to give that power to the president but to give it to the Congress because they were worried, as Hamilton said, that a president would grow too fond of making war,” Schiff said.
Schiff doubled down, warning that presidents could increasingly bypass Congress when authorizing military action.
“After Venezuela, after the earlier Iran conflict, after bombing Nigeria and Iraq and Syria, he’s grown too fond of this. And Congress … needs to step up, assert its role, or it is going to be gone for good. And then, any time a president, for any reason, anywhere in the world, for any length of time, will feel free to make war. And that would be hugely dangerous for the country,” Schiff said
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