Scrutiny mounts on Pete Hegseth

Also, the Wall StreetJournal is now reporting Hegseth asked the four-star head of US military operations in the Caribbean to step down. It was announced Admiral Alvin Holsey was retiring in October after the US began striking suspected drug boats. According to the Journal, Holsey reportedly had concerns about the legality of these strikes. And according to multiple sources, the Pentagon's internal watchdog found Hegseth violated regulations and could have endangered troops when he shared details about a military operation in Yemen in a private Signal group chat earlier this year. A journalist was accidentally added to this thread. And this is how Hegseth responded earlier this year when the story first broke. Nobody was texting war plans, and that's all I have to say about that. So we have a lot to get to today. We've got the right team for that. Natalie Brand is standing by at the White House, and Taurean Small is there on Capitol Hill. Natalie, let's start with you. What are we learning about the two survivors of that September boat strike? Good morning, Errol. A source tells CBS News that the two survivors who initially survived that September 2 strike on an alleged drug boat were apparently trying to climb back on board before it was struck, hit a second time. And the source says that, as you mentioned, they were trying to allegedly salvage drugs and appeared to be in communication with others at the time. And the source also notes that there were other boats in the vicinity that could have picked them up. Now, these new details come as the second strike is under a lot of scrutiny over on Capitol Hill. Some legal experts and Democratic lawmakers have said that that second strike could constitute a war crime if the military was intentionally hitting survivors. Now, Secretary Hegseth has said that the decision to make that second strike was made by the mission commander, Admiral Bradley, and was legal and justified, Errol. And, Taurean, I want to jump to you. What do lawmakers hope to hear from Admiral Frank Bradley today? Well, Errol, there is a clear split when it comes to parties along interpretation of the Trump administration's defense of that strike. We've heard Democrats pretty much calling this a war crime, something that Republicans have scoffed at. But we also have seen some trepidation with Republicans in full defense of the Trump administration. Here's what we've gathered from lawmakers yesterday. We're going to essentially ask, in detail, what happened? Who gave what orders? What were the orders? If that is true that there were deliberate attacks upon individuals in the water, that would certainly constitute a war crime. At the end of the day, the policy of stopping ships with poison coming in to kill Americans is a good policy. I think it's been a little bit mismanaged in the messaging. And while it's been clear that Republicans are looking to get further answers, we also know that quite a few Republicans are looking to ask Bradley exactly what his involvement was in the ordering of those strikes. Put it in the words of Senator Richard Blumenthal, a. Democrat. He said that it was clear to him that Hegseth had Admiral Bradley's back just close enough to, quote, "push him under the bus," Errol. And, Natalie, I want to jump back to the other story about this new report, internal review of the Signal chat. What do we know specifically, and then how are lawmakers reacting to what's now being revealed? Yeah, and an unclassified version of that report is due out today. But ahead of that, sources tell CBS News that the Pentagon's inspector-general report found that Secretary Hegseth jeopardized sensitive military information when he shared operational details about that military operation in Yemen back in March in a private Signal chat group in which a journalist was inadvertently added. Now, sources familiar with this report also tell CBS News that if that information had been intercepted by a foreign adversary, then US service members and the mission could have been put at risk, and that's really why lawmakers were so concerned about this and called for this inspector general report months ago. Now, CBS is told the report does not address the question of whether Secretary Hegseth declassified the information before he posted it to that encrypted app. Now, a classified version of this report has already been read and digested by Senate and House lawmakers on intelligence committees, and that's why Democrats on those committees are calling for Hegseth to resign. Even Republican Michael McCaul, who spoke to CBS News and TheTakeoutyesterday, said that the perception of this was a bit reckless. Take a listen. Well, I do know the inspector general's report found that none of the information was classified information, which is very important. It was all unclassified. When the Signalgate thing started, they fired the wrong guy.

I guess, what-- Mike Waltz was not the guy that should have been fired.

Now, Hegseth has called the review on social media a, quote, "total exoneration." Saying, "No classified information. Case closed." The White House is also standing by him, defending him, saying that operational security was not compromised, Errol. All right, Natalie Brand and Taurean Small with the big headlines for us this morning. Thanks to you both.