DALLAS — The most widespread response to date to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has come in the form of economic sanctions -- and not just for Vladimir Putin and the Russian government.
Several countries, including the United States, have also sanctioned certain Russian oligarchs, targeting the country's collection of uber-wealthy people with strong ties to Putin. It's all in hopes of affecting change.
These sanctions center around blocking these oligarchs' assets, including freezing their assets in the U.S. and blocking their property -- such as private jets and yachts -- from being used in the U.S.
But it was a unique idea, unlikely thought it may be to happen, that drew headlines this week when it was filed as a bill in the U.S. House -- and the concept came straight from North Texas.
U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, introduced a bill Monday that would call for President Joe Biden to issue "Letters of Marque and Reprisal," allowing for private citizens to seize the yachts, planes and property of Russian oligarchs.
“Putin’s inner circle have planes and yachts sitting at airports and harbors all over the world," Gooden said in a statement. "If President Biden refuses to act quickly, then it is time Congress and American citizens take matters into their own hands. Russian oligarchs must be held accountable for enabling the disgusting invasion of Ukraine.”
It's a spin on similar methods being used to seize oligarch-owned yachts in such European countries as France, Italy and Germany -- only, as Gooden explained in an interview with Fox News, his bill would allow the U.S. to authorize private hackers to go after the assets of "specific state actors" of Russia.
Chart Westcott, a Dallas businessman who knows Gooden, said he reached out to Gooden about filing the bill. Westcott's idea was similar to the sanctions on the oligarchs: Hit them where it hurts by seizing their assets, and particularly their luxurious yachts.
"It's really about the yachts," Westcott said. "These are huge, floating examples of Russian excess and the oligarchs' exploitation of the economy."
The attention-grabbing twist is that it wouldn't be government agencies seizing these assets in Wescott and Gooden's plans. Their proposal would allow for private citizens to seize the yachts themselves through the letters of marque and reprisal.
Westcott said the thinking behind such a bill is that it would be more efficient if anyone had the right to seize the yachts and property of oligarchs, rather than solely having the government go after them.
The concept, known as privateering, goes back several centuries, when governments would authorize private ship captains to seize enemy property on the seas.
In fact, the U.S. Constitution lists letters of marque and reprisal "concerning captures on land and water" as an enumerated power held by Congress.
But governments haven't used privateering since the 1800s, when, as Brittanica explains, it was often cheaper for countries to hire private ship captains than build up their own navies.
So it's fairly unlikely President Biden and Congress will authorize private citizens to seize foreign assets on the high seas.
Even so, Westcott said he hopes Gooden's bill can help drive the conversation around oligarchs and the potential seizing of their assets.
"To me, it was one more dent in the universe to put Putin and the oligarchs on notice," Westcott said. "It's nice to make a dent in the universe, as Steve Jobs would say."
