Dems: President can't legally strike N. Korea

WASHINGTON — A group of Democratic senators is warning President Donald Trump that he lacks the “legal authority” to carry out a preemptive strike on North Korea, amid questions overwhether the White House is considering a risky “bloody nose” attack.

In a letter to be sent to Trump on Monday, the 18 senators said they are “deeply concerned about the potential consequence sofa preemptive military strike on North Korea and the risks of mis calculation and retaliation .” They emphasized that it is an “enormous gamble” to believe that such anaction, even if it were modest in scope, would not provoke an escalation from dictator Kim Jong Un.

“Moreover, without congressional authority, a preventative or preemptive U. S. military strike would lack either a constitutional basis or legal authority ,” the senators wrote in the letter organized by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N. M ., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Congressional aides said the letter was prompted by the circumstances surrounding the sudden derailment of the White House’s original choice for ambassador to South Korea, a post that has remained vacant since Trump took office.

The Washington Post reported last week that Trump’s original choice, Victor D. Cha, was no longer expected to be nominated after more than six months of vetting. In December, the administration had sent Ch a’ s name to Seoul and received quick approval from the South Korean government, aformal process called“agrément” that typically is the

final step before a candidate is nominated to the Senate.

The senators called his derailment “disturbing” and expressed “serious concerns” over Trump’s handling of the post.

“We ask that you provide a clear reasoning and justification for his removal from consideration,” the senators wrote. The others who signed the letter are: Ben Car-din of Maryland, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Patty Murray of Washington, Chris Coons of Delaware, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Jeffff Merkley of Oregon, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Catherine Cortez Matso of Nevada, Kamala Harris of California, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.