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Democrats are amplifying pressure on the Trump administration to produce evidence that last week’s military strike in the Caribbean Sea killed 11 drug smugglers, which the president has claimed, as lawmakers from both parties question the legal basis for the surprise use of force.

On Wednesday, more than 20 Democrats petitioned President Donald Trump to clarify a host of facts about the operation, including the military assets involved and how the administration confirmed the targets were part of a drug network. Their outreach followed a closed-door briefing by the Pentagon to bipartisan staff from the principal national security committees, a meeting that two people familiar with the matter characterized as vague and unsatisfying......

In announcing the strike on Sept. 2, Trump said the vessel’s crew had been “positively identified” as members of Tren de Aragua, a criminal group his administration has sought to connect to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and violent crime in the U.S. He claimed later that the U.S. government has “tapes” of the suspects speaking, but to date the administration has not released evidence verifying who — and what — was aboard the boat blown up by U.S. forces.

Kaine and other Democrats have cast doubt on the administration’s statements and questioned why the boat wasn’t stopped by a U.S. vessel, consistent with long-standing efforts to interdict suspected drug smugglers......

The Pentagon sent no lawyers to the Hill for Tuesday’s briefing, which these people interpreted as a deliberate effort to avoid addressing the strike’s legality. During the meeting, defense officials cited the president’s broad authority under Article II of the Constitution to conduct foreign policy deemed in the national interest and said lawyers within the administration had deemed the attack legal, the people familiar with the matter said, noting that the Pentagon’s representatives declined to identify the lawyers or provide further documentation.