Americans could soon hold letters from President Donald Trump empowering them to attack violent gangs and drug cartels in pirate ships and by the border if Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) can persuade Congress to grant letters of marque and reprisal, he explained to Alex Marlow on Monday.
The Constitution authorizes Congress in Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal,” as Lee set forth his plan on The Alex Marlow Show, sandwiched between Congress’s power to declare war and its power to make rules for capturing America’s enemies.
Congress can grant such letters, which would be signed by the president, who presumably would also include whatever regulations and conditions are necessary to effectively supervise these activities in what would otherwise become the Wild Wild West.
As Marlow opened the discussion with Lee, he noted letters of marque would…
