The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel drafted a new memo that provided legal justification for the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
The details of the memo were not immediately clear.
United States Attorney General Pam Bondi told lawmakers on Wednesday that she would soon provide copies of the document, although a source told the CNN that the memo will likely remain classified.
It sparked immediate bipartisan criticism over whether the United States had the authority to arrest a foreign leader abroad without congressional approval.
Some legal experts, and Madur’s lawyers, have suggested that the operation may have violated federal law.
Within the Justice Department, officials also cited a separate 1989 memo that said a president has “inherent constitutional authority” to order the FBI to detain individuals in foreign countries, even if doing so violates international law.
