GOP enters the fray and raises the what-if question.

"Last September, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines exploded beneath the North Sea. The pipelines were designed to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany (Nord Stream 2 had not yet become operational, at the time of the explosion). Many suspected that Russia was responsible for the act of sabotage. Now, the veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh has claimed that a U.S. Navy team of divers based in Florida carried out the operation.

The White House labeled Hersh's report "utterly false and complete fiction." But if Hersh's claims are true, the operation was an act of war against two nations—one of them a NATO ally. President Joe Biden would have done this without congressional authorization—indeed, without so much as consulting any members of Congress. For military actions far less consequential than this, Biden used to attack his Republican predecessors as "monarchists."

The U.S. has long opposed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Biden threatened that "[i]f Russia invades...there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it." Earlier, Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland (who has worked hand in glove with the Biden family on Ukraine matters since 2014) stated that "[i]f Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward."

After the explosion, the Biden administration expressed satisfaction. Nuland said, "the administration is very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now...a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea." Secretary of State Blinken stated that the pipelines' destruction provided a "tremendous strategic opportunity for the years to come."

It is hard to believe that the U.S. would attack a civilian pipeline designed for peaceful uses by a NATO ally. But subsequent investigations have not incriminated Russia, who many initially assumed to be the culprit. A German government investigation has failed to find evidence of Russian culpability; Sweden found that the detonations constituted "serious sabotage," but did not accuse Russia.

Now, Hersh has entered the fray. Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize winner, claims that intelligence and military sources report the U.S. sabotaged the pipelines.. Hersh has a long history of digging for U.S. military and national security secrets. Sometimes, his stories have been borne out; other times, they have not. But as Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has said, Hersh's recent claims cannot be ruled out. We do not yet know the truth.

Suppose Hersh's claims are true. Then consider the holier-than-thou attitude on presidential war powers that Biden long advocated throughout his career."

https://www.newsweek.com/constitutional-hypocrisy-nord-stream-2-explosion-opinion-1780929