President Donald Trump's administration is still attempting to defend the air strike that killed the top military official in Iran, Qasem Soleimani, in a move that dramatically escalated tensions between the United States and Iran.
Trump officials said the killing of Soleimani was a response to an "imminent attack" that necessitated the drastic move without informing Congressional leadership.
The so-called preventative measure resulted in retaliatory attacks from Iran on Iraqi military bases where U.S. troops are based.
Lawmakers and citizens alike have called on the Trump administration to elaborate on what the imminent attack was and how Soleimani's death protected Americans from that attack.
The White House has declined to reveal what the attack was, citing security reasons. Then, on Thursday, Trump supposedly told the public the reason Soleimani was killed.
Watch below.
Trump said:
"We caught a total monster and we took him out, and that should've happened a long time ago. We did it because they were looking to blow up our embassy. We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious."
Trump's defense officials briefed lawmakers on the reasons for the attack on Soleimani, but the briefing frustrated Democrats and even left some pro-Trump Republicans furious.
And according to at least one Senator present for the briefing, there was no mention of an imminent attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
People have a theory as to the reason for the discrepancies.
After all, with so much pressure to justify the attack on Soleimani, why would Trump keep this to himself for a whole week?
Trump rattling off baseless claims with a direct effect on national security? Must be Thursday.
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