Ben Rhodes

It seemed like, and I'm sure you can't talk about this, but it seemed like there was a combination of

probably offensive cyber operations and special operations.

This took months.

Is it not the case that they were telling you that they weren't planning anything while they were planning something?

I mean, that seems like a big deal.

Because Trump also did say on Air Force One that he spoke to American oil companies before the operation.

So it feels like maybe Chevron got a heads up before.

Well, it seems like everything is about personal relationships now and not institutions.

But to get into what's going on, what is your reaction?

There's been a lot to digest.

Trump is now saying we're going to run Venezuela, but he's also basically keeping the Maduro regime in place absent Maduro.

He says that we're no longer talking about drugs as much as we're talking about oil.

What are your concerns right now?

going forward about what happens now that the United States has removed Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela.

Yeah, you said a lot that I wanted to break down here.

I mean, because there are different things that concern me here.

So let's take one that gets at your effort to introduce a bipartisan war powers resolution that you've been working on for some time now.

For people who don't know, this is essentially trying to insist that the United States return to a circumstance where the president cannot use military force without coming to Congress.

That's in the Constitution.

Right.