White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the United States intends to “seize” the crude oil carried onboard the Skipper, an oil tanker captured in international waters off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump announced the seizure of the tanker on Wednesday afternoon at the top of his meeting with tech executives at the White House, but offered additional details on the incident.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also declined to deliver details at her briefing Thursday afternoon, but she faced a number of questions on the subject and denied that oil was the focus of the president’s campaign against Venezuela in recent months.
TRUMP CHANGES HIS TUNE ON RELEASING SECOND STRIKE FOOTAGE
“The Department of Justice requested and was approved for a warrant to seize a vessel, because it’s a sanctioned shadow vessel known for carrying black market sanctioned oil to [Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], which you know is a sanctioned entity,” she stated in response to the first question on the topic. “The president is committed to stopping the illegal flow of drugs into our country. He’s also fully committed to effectuating this administration’s sanction policy, and that’s what you saw as the world saw take place yesterday.”
Still, Leavitt faced a more direct followup — will the Trump administration seize the oil itself “to try to help Americans” regarding affordability?
“The vessel is currently undergoing a forfeiture process right now. The United States currently has a full investigative team on the ground, on the vessel, and individuals on board the vessel are being interviewed and any relevant evidence is being seized,” she answered, suggesting that “with respect to the oil, that’s a different issue.”
‘ALL BARK, NO BITE’: TRUMP STILL HAS ‘A WAYS TO GO’ BEFORE DECLARING VICTORY OVER AFFORDABILITY
“The vessel will go to a U.S. port, and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” Leavitt offered. “However, there is a legal process for the seizure of that oil, and that legal process will be followed.”
You can watch Leavitt’s briefing in full below.