White House Defends Soleimani Killing In New Memo, Leaves Some Skeptical

President Donald Trump's administration released a report last week outlining its legal justification for killing top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike in January, saying the move came “in response to an escalating series of attacks in preceding months." The administration had previously claimed that an "imminent threat" had prompted the strike. Outlets on the left and center highlighted the conflicting nature of the memo, noting that it contained no evidence of an imminent threat. Right-leaning coverage was more sparse, though some publications did carry Trump's response to the administration's explanations, in which he called them "totally consistent."