Rep. James Walkinshaw: Trump administration needs to explain legal rational for Maduro capture

Congress reacts to US strikes in Venezuela

Congressman James Walkinshaw (D-VA) reacts to the capturing of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

In an interview Monday with LiveNow Digital Journalist Caral Lajara, Democrat Congressional representative James R. Walkinshaw says the Trump administration needs to explain the legal rationale after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

"I think the administration has to do a much better job of explaining the legal rationale for this action. I think that the Constitution is very clear that absent an imminent threat to the United States, it's Congress that must declare war and that declaration has to come before there's an act of war. And I think an invasion of a sovereign nation is an act of war. So I'm not satisfied by the legal explanations that the administration has made," said Walkinshaw.

What would you say to your colleagues who do support the way that everything happened and how the Trump administration handled the situation when it came to getting Maduro out of Venezuela to face charges here in the U.S.? 

"Well, look, there are thousands of individuals across the world who are facing charges, have been charged with crimes in the United States of America, including other leaders of sovereign nations. There are individuals in Russia who have been charged with crimes in the United States of America. We don't invade those nations with military force to extract individuals who are being charged with crimes in the United States of America. We can't obviously do that everywhere. We should not have done that here. And we don't know what the long-term complications or implications will be of this action. And what I would say to my colleagues, even if you agree with what the Trump administration has done here, even if think it was the right action, If you're a member of the United States Congress sworn to uphold the United States constitution, it is very clear that it is our responsibility as the Congress to debate, discuss and vote before an act of war like this can take place. That's not what happened here. So even if you agree with the military action, you should also support the oath you took to the constitution, which says Congress needs to debate and vote on this before it can happen," said Walkinshaw.

The Trump administration and the president himself have also mentioned Cuba and Colombia, and taking a look at other Latin American countries. Are you concerned about possible military action in other countries going forward? And have you heard maybe some of those concerns within your Democratic Party? 

"Yes, I think there is a lot of concern that President Trump and the Trump administration, especially the so-called hawks in the administration who want to see more and more military engagement see Venezuela as a first step and are looking at next steps in our hemisphere. And look, there are at least 15,000 American service members right now deployed in the Caribbean. Thank God, none of them lost their lives or were injured that we're aware of in this operation in Venezuela. But any deployment creates and carries with it risk. Their lives are at risk right now by virtue of being deployed in the Caribbean. And if we expand this operation, these operations into other countries, American lives will be lost. And that's not what Donald Trump campaigned on. That's not the American people want," said Walkinshaw.

What message do you have for Venezuelans across the country and more specifically, who are located in Virginia? 

"Well, the message that I have for Venezuelans here in Virginia and across the country is that the United States of America should always be a voice for democracy, for freedom, for equality, for all people around the world. But the best way to bring that to pass is to support those movements for democracy in those respective nations and to see Donald Trump so dismissive of the Venezuelan opposition. Which has significant support, not just in the Venezuelan community here in the United States, but most importantly in Venezuela today, I think was a blow to those democratic aspirations of the Venezualan people. So I'm an advocate for the United State's supporting small D democratic movements around the world, especially here in our hemisphere, but we don't have many success stories of the American military bringing to pass small d democracy, certainly in our hemisphere," said Walkinshaw.

Congressional representative Walkinshaw is serving his first term in Congress representing Virginia’s 11th Congressional District which includes most of Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, and the towns of Vienna and Herndon.