WH Spox: ‘I Would Imagine’ Trump Would Support Probe Into Yemen Raid

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A White House spokesperson said Sunday that President Donald Trump would likely “be supportive” of an investigation into a raid on an al-Qaida base in Yemen that resulted in the first U.S. military combat casualty since he took office.

“Does the President want an investigation?” George Stephanopoulos asked White House principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on ABC’s “This Week.”

“I haven’t had the chance to speak with him directly about that but I would imagine that he would be supportive of that,” she replied.

Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens died Jan. 28 of wounds sustained in Yemen during the first counter-terrorism operation of Trump’s presidency. Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware in February to join Owens’ family and meet his remains.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in February that anybody questioning the success of the raid was doing “a disservice to the life of Chief Ryan Owens.”

“I think anybody who undermines the success of that raid owes an apology,” Spicer said. “I don’t know how much more clearer I can be.”

William Owens, the father of William “Ryan” Owens, said in an interview Friday with the Miami Herald that he would “like some answers.”

“Don’t hide behind my son’s death to prevent an investigation,” he said. “The government owes my son an investigation.”

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