Democratic Rep. Jim Himes says Pete Hegseth has "zero credibility" on September boat strikes

Washington — Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has "zero credibility" on the September strikes on an alleged drug boat, citing "shifting explanations" from the Pentagon for the second strike, which has drawn scrutiny in recent weeks.

Himes was among a small number of lawmakers who last week received briefings from military officials behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, which centered on the Trump administration's campaign against alleged drug trafficking boats off the coast of South America, including the Sept. 2 follow-on strike that has become a flashpoint in Congress. The lawmakers were shown video of the second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat, after the Washington Post reported a week earlier that a second attack killed two survivors of the initial strike.

Himes, a Connecticut Democrat, told reporters after the briefing that "what I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service."

Appearing on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Sunday, Himes urged that it's "really important that this video be made public," noting that the interpretation of the video from lawmakers who were briefed "broke down precisely on party lines." 

"And so this is an instance in which I think the American public needs to judge for itself," Himes said. "I know how the public is going to react because I felt my own reaction." 

Himes said he's spent hours looking at videos of lethal action taken by the U.S., while noting that he was "profoundly shaken" by the video of the Sept. 2 strikes. 

"There's a certain amount of sympathy out there for going after drug runners, but I think it's really important that people see what it looks like when the full force the United States military is turned on two guys who are clinging to a piece of wood and about to go under, just so that they have sort of a visceral feel for what it is that we're doing," Himes said. 

The strike was the first in the administration's campaign against alleged drug traffickers in the Southern Hemisphere. Since then, the U.S. has conducted more than 20 strikes and killed more than 80 people. Even before the Post's report, the attacks had attracted scrutiny from lawmakers since the administration is conducting them without authorization from Congress. But the administration has argued that since it has designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations, it has the legal authority to conduct the strikes, although the administration has not offered proof the vessels are being operated by drug cartels.

GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee who was also briefed last week, refuted Himes' characterization of the video last week. And on Sunday, he told "Meet the Press" that the survivors "were not incapacitated in any way," adding that it was "entirely appropriate to strike the boat again to make sure that its cargo was destroyed."

Cotton said it appeared the individuals were "sitting or standing on top of a capsized boat, they weren't floating helplessly in the water." 

"I don't think it matters all that much what they were trying to do," Cotton said, adding that it looked at one point like they were trying to flip the boat back over. 

Himes responded to the comments on "Face the Nation" saying, "as many times as Tom Cotton may say that it doesn't matter what they were doing, it matters essentially what they were doing."

"If someone has been struck and continues to engage in hostilities — points a gun at you, has a gun — they may be a legitimate target, but if they are outside of combat, they are not and attacking them is a violation of the laws of war," Himes said. "And these guys — and this is why the American people need to see this video — these guys were barely alive, much less engaging in hostilities."

The lawmakers were briefed by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Navy Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley, head of Special Operations Command, who was leading the mission and whom Hegseth has said made the decision to strike the boat again.

Himes said people who have worked with Bradley describe him as having had a "storied career and that he is a man of deep, deep integrity." But he said what the incident raises "is what happens when an apparently good man like Admiral Bradley is placed in a context where he knows that if he countermands an order that he is perhaps uncomfortable with, it is very likely that he will be fired."

"It's interesting to think about how a good man in that context maybe does something that if he weren't in that context, he might not do," Himes added. 

Hegseth described his own role in the Sept. 2 strikes at the Reagan National Defense Forum Saturday, saying he was told there had to be a "reattack" because there were "a couple folks who could still be in the fight," citing possible access to radio, drugs still present and a "linkup point of another potential boat."

"I said, 'roger, sounds good,'" Hegseth said. "From what I understood then and what I understand now, I fully support that strike. I would have made the same call myself."

Asked by Brennan whether the secretary's statement matched what he was told in the briefing, Himes said "there was a lot of lack of clarity over exactly what Pete Hegseth's role here was."
"But Pete Hegseth has no credibility on this matter," Himes added.