White House justification for 2nd strike on drug boat apparently at odds with Trump's
Editor's Note: A prior version of this story incorrectly attributed quotes from a reporter's question to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said she "would reject" the notion that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ever said that "everyone be killed." ABC News regrets the error and the story has been updated.
The White House's account of whether the U.S. military should have conducted a second strike on a drug boat that had already been hit and killed survivors appears to be at odds with what the president said about the incident a day earlier.
When asked about reports that the U.S. military killed survivors of a Sept. 2 strike on a boat suspected of ferrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said narcoterrorists were subject to "lethal targeting in accordance with the law of war" and that the second strike was warranted "to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated."
However, when asked about a Washington Post report that alleged that Hegseth ordered military commanders to kill everybody on board the boat, Trump said on Sunday he would not have wanted a second strike and that he believed Hegseth did not use those words.
"I don't know anything about it," Trump said when asked about the report. "[Hegseth] said, he said, he did not say that. And I believe him," Trump said. "But no, I wouldn't have wanted that. Not a second strike. The first strike was very lethal. It was fine, and if there were two people around, but Pete said that didn't happen. I have great confidence."
According to The Post, Hegseth allegedly gave a spoken order ahead of the Sept. 2 operation to kill everybody aboard the suspected drug boat. After an initial strike left two survivors, Adm. Mitch Bradley, who was in charge of the operation, complied with Hegseth's alleged order by ordering a second strike, according to the report.
One person familiar with details of the Sept. 2 incident confirmed to ABC News that there were survivors from the initial strike on the boat and that those survivors were killed in subsequent strikes. ABC News has not confirmed, though, the specifics of orders from Hegseth or Bradley.
In a post on X on Friday, Hegseth said the report was "more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland."
"Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict -- and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command," Hegseth said. Leavitt also said that she "would reject" that Hegseth ever said that "everyone be killed."
A slew of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle voiced their outrage over the report and called for an investigation into the incident, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who demanded Hegseth release the "full, unedited tapes of the strikes so the American people can see for themselves."
"Your recklessness demands full transparency and strict congressional oversight," Schumer said in a statement on Sunday. "We will hold you accountable."
Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and ranking Democrat Sen. Jack Reed last week called for "vigorous oversight to determine the facts" of the allegations.
Asked Monday if he thought the second strike might have been a war crime, Wicker said, We're going to find out what the true facts are, and then there'll be a determination."
"I've spoken to the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, I've spoken to the Secretary of Defense, and we'll be speaking to the admiral that was in charge of the operation -- I understand he was in charge of the operation," Wicker said.
"We're going to conduct oversight, and we're going to try to get to the facts. And to the extent that we're able to see videos and see what the orders were, we'll have a lot more information other than just news reports," Wicker promised.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he didn't want to "draw any conclusions or deductions until we have all the facts." He said he had not talked to Hegseth about the incident.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said he has not spoken to Hegseth, either, but "If it is substantiated, whoever made that order needs to get the hell out of Washington. And if it is not substantiated, whoever the hell created the rage bait should be fired."
The top Republican and Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee also said the committee is also investigating the incident.
Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the committee told ABC News on Monday night he is anticipating Bradley visiting Capitol Hill on Thursday.
"That's, I think, where we're going to first get the information, and then I think we should go higher up the chain of command," Smith said. "There needs to be a lot more public statements, also for all of you and for the American people to understand exactly what happened and exactly what we're doing down there, blowing up these boats and killing people and at the same time threatening Venezuela repeatedly. There's a lack of clarity in what is a very significant military action."
Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican who sits on the committee, told "This Week" the report was a "big concern," but also expressed skepticism Hegseth would have issued such an order.
"We should get to the truth. I don't think [Hegseth] would be foolish enough to make this decision to say, kill everybody, kill the survivors because that's a clear violation of the law of war. So, I'm very suspicious that he would've done something like that because it would go against common sense," Bacon said.
Leavitt said Hegseth spoke with members of Congress "who may have expressed some concerns over the weekend" and had provided Congress with the Pentagon Office of Legal Counsel's opinion that the operation was on firm legal ground.
In addition, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine spoke by phone with the top Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and House armed services committees.
The call was about "the intent and legality of missions to disrupt illicit trafficking networks which threaten the security and stability of the Western Hemisphere," according to a readout of Caine's call provided by the Joint Staff.
Hegseth appeared to make light of the controversy in a post on Sunday of an AI-generated image of children's book character Franklin the turtle firing missiles at drug boats, with the text reading "Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists."
Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs said in a post that she "fixed" the text, changing it to read "Franklin is a war criminal."
Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton told the Post the killing of survivors is "blatantly illegal." And he pushed back on briefing material provided to the White House by the Joint Special Operations Command and a similar explanation to lawmakers that the second strike was to remove a navigation hazard to other vessels.
"The idea that wreckage from one small boat in a vast ocean is a hazard to marine traffic is patently absurd, and killing survivors is blatantly illegal," Moulton told The Washington Post.
Additionally, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said he plans to refile his resolution demanding there be no war against Venezuela without congressional approval, along with reintroducing the war powers resolution that he and Democratic colleague Adam Schiff introduced in October -- which would block the use of U.S. military force in the Caribbean Sea without an Authorization of Military Force by Congress.
"The circumstances have changed in the months since we had that vote. In each of these instances, we were able to get two Republicans to vote together with Democrats," Kaine said. "We think the escalating pace and some of the recent revelations, so, for example, the recent revelation about the 'kill everyone' order apparently dictated by Secretary Hegseth. We do believe that we will get more support for these motions when they are refiled."
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said Monday that there "needs to be an investigation" into the strikes.
"I hope what we are hearing is not not accurate," Kelly said. "I will say, though, you know, as somebody who has sunk two ships myself, that folks in the military need to understand, you know, the Law of the Sea, the Geneva Conventions, what the law says. And I'm concerned that if there were, in fact, as reported, you know, survivors clinging to a damaged vessel, that that could be, you know, over a line. I hope it's not the case." Kelly said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen also told "This Week" he believes it's "very possible there was a war crime committed."
"Of course, for it to be a war crime, you have to accept the Trump administration's whole construct here ... which is we're in armed conflict, at war with this particular -- with the drug gangs. Of course, they've never presented the public with the information they've got here," Van Hollen said. "If that theory is wrong, then it's plain murder."
Republican Rep. Mike Turner told CBS' "Face the Nation" he agreed if Hegseth's orders are true, "that would be very serious."
"Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious. And I agree that, that would be an illegal act," Turner said.
Asked Monday if the second strike violated laws of armed conflict which prohibit attacking survivors from a wrecked vessel, Leavitt replied "The strike was conducted in international waters and in accordance with the law of armed conflict."
ABC News' Lalee Ibssa and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
