WH Spox: Imminent Threat Gave Legal Authority for Syria Air Strike

WH Spox: Imminent Threat Gave Legal Authority for Syria Air Strike

Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Reid Report,” White House counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco said the White House is using the “imminent threat” posed by an al Qaeda terror cell called the Khorasan Group in Syria to assert its legal authority to bomb Syria.

Host Joy Reid was concerned that group was not brought up to Congress when requesting authority to arm Syria rebels. She asked, “The idea of an imminent plot against the United States by this Khorasan group, is that the way the White House is essentially asserting its legal authority?” 

Monaco confirmed the move by saying, “This group of al Qaeda veterans, yes, they pose a threat to the United States and to our partners. And we were watching them conduct what we determined to be advanced stage plotting. And the president’s been clear under current authority, he has the authority to go after, take that fight to disrupt al Qaeda operatives and their associated forces to disrupt that plotting.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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