Hegseth and Democrats Clash Over Sept. 2 Boat Strike Video Release

The Debate Over the Release of the U.S. Military’s Video from the Caribbean Attack

The U.S. military's September 2 attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean has sparked a heated debate between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Democrats over whether to release the video of the incident. The operation, which resulted in the deaths of two survivors, has raised serious concerns about potential war crimes.

Democrats have been pushing the Pentagon for weeks to make the video of the September 2 mission public. According to reports, the U.S. military conducted four strikes during the operation. The first strike killed nine "narco-terrorists," damaged the boat, and left two survivors in the water. The second strike, authorized by Adm. Frank Bradley, who is now the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, killed the two survivors. The third and fourth strikes ultimately sank the vessel, which was likely carrying cocaine.

On Tuesday, Hegseth announced that the full, unedited video would not be released to the public. He emphasized the importance of protecting the military's "sources and methods." However, he did confirm that the full video would be shown to all members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on Wednesday morning.

"In keeping with long-standing Department of War policy … Department of Defense policy, of course, we’re not going to release a top secret full unedited video of that to the general public," Hegseth stated to reporters after briefing senators on the U.S. military’s ongoing, lethal strikes against alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also briefed House members on the campaign. Democrats expressed frustration that the Trump administration did not show the full, unedited video of the September 2 strikes.

"The administration came to this briefing empty-handed," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to reporters on Tuesday. "That’s the major question that we face. If they can’t be transparent on this, how can you trust their transparency on all the other issues swirling about in the Caribbean?"

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who attended the briefing, noted that officials cited "classification concerns" when arguing against releasing the full video to the public.

"It is hard to square the widespread routine prompt posting of detailed videos of every strike with a concern that posting a portion of the video of the first strike would violate a variety of classification concerns," Coons told reporters.

Hegseth has often shared clips of deadly boat strikes within hours of the operation being carried out, with some parts of the video typically blurred out to protect certain information.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired Naval officer who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested that the Trump administration was concerned about how the public would react to the video.

"Obviously, they have issues with what is in that video, and that’s why they don’t want everybody to see it," he said.

Kelly is currently engaged in a dispute with the Pentagon over a video he and other Democrats released last week, urging members of the military to refuse illegal orders.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a strong supporter of President Trump, supported the administration’s decision not to share the video with all lawmakers. He argued that some secret information would inevitably leak to the media.

"There’s a lot of members that’s gonna walk out there and that’s gonna leak classified information and there’s gonna be certain ones that you hold accountable," Mullin told reporters. "Not everybody can go through the same background checks that need to be to be cleared on this," he added. "Do you think [Rep. Ilhan] Omar [D-Minn.] needs all this information? I will say no."

Omar has had a long-standing public conflict with Trump, whom she has accused of racism for his attacks against Somali immigrants.

Some GOP lawmakers have called for the video to be released, arguing that "most" Americans do not care about it that much.

"Release it. Make your own decisions. This is lawful," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a defense hawk and an ally of the president, to reporters.

Sen. Jon Housted (R-Ohio) told reporters ahead of the briefing that every member of Congress should see the video and that he "would like it to be released to the public, if appropriate."

Some lawmakers were shown the video earlier this month when Bradley, alongside Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, briefed members on the operation. Democrats who attended those sessions were disturbed by the video, with Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, stating that the clip showed U.S. service members targeting survivors who posed no threat to the U.S.

Bradley’s team, including a legal counsel, will accompany the admiral during Wednesday’s briefings with both House and Senate Armed Services panels, according to a GOP congressional aide. It is unclear if the legal counsel will be the same one as the judge advocate general who was in the room advising Bradley when the September 2 strikes took place.

After the Tuesday briefing, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who has been critical of the military’s drug boat strikes, announced that he will ask for unanimous consent later this week to pass a bill requiring the administration to release the video to Congress and make it public.

"I found the legal explanations and the strategic explanations incoherent, but I think the American people should see this video," Schiff said. "And all members of Congress should have that opportunity. I certainly want it for myself."