A bipartisan group of former federal ethics officials is urging the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate whether government lawyers improperly justified U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-running boats in Latin America.
Their request cites a Washington Post report claiming the Office of Legal Counsel issued a still-classified opinion shielding personnel from future prosecution for lethal strikes that have killed more than 80 people since September.
Duckworth: "It is a war crime. It's illegal. No matter how you put it, it's all illegal. I've been shot down behind enemy lines. Under the laws of war, you are supposed to help render aid to that individual ... you're not allowed to go back in and kill them." pic.twitter.com/NsLKvBjZ4f
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 7, 2025
The Trump administration insists the operations are lawful, arguing the U.S. is in a “non-international armed conflict” with cartels designated as terrorist groups. President Trump says cartel-linked drugs killing Americans provide legal authority for the strikes.
Critics, including legal scholars and former ethics counsels Norm Eisen, Richard Painter and Virginia Canter, say the rationale violates international and domestic law.
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats are also demanding access to the Justice Department’s legal analysis as concerns mount over the scope and legality of the operations.
Also read:
TIPP Staff
