Democratic Rep. Jim Himes says Pete Hegseth has ‘no 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 “no credibility” about the September strikes on a suspected drug boat, citing “changing explanations” from the Pentagon for the second strike, which has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.

Himes was among a small number of lawmakers who last week received briefings of military officials behind closed doors at the Capitol, centering on the Trump administration’s campaign against suspected drug-smuggling boats off the coast of South America, including the follow-up Sept. 2 strike that became a flashpoint in Congress. 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 disturbing things I’ve seen in my career in public service.”

Appearing on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” On Sunday, Himes insisted that it was “really important that this video be made public,” noting that the interpretation of the video by lawmakers who were briefed “fell precisely along party lines.”

“So this is a case where I think the American public has to judge for themselves,” Himes said. “I know how the audience will react because I felt my own reaction.”

Himes said he spent hours watching videos of deadly actions by the United States, while noting that he was “deeply shaken” by video of the September 2 strikes.

“There’s some sympathy for going after drug dealers, but I think it’s really important for people to see what it looks like when the entire force of the United States military turns on two guys who are hanging on to a piece of wood and are about to go under, just so they have kind of a visceral feeling of what we’re doing,” Himes said.

The strike was the first in the administration’s campaign against suspected drug traffickers in the southern hemisphere. Since then, the United States has carried out more than 20 strikes and killed more than 80 people. Even before the Post report was published, the attacks had attracted the attention of lawmakers because the administration was carrying them out without congressional authorization. But the administration has argued that since it designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations, it has the legal authority to carry out the strikes, even though the administration has not provided evidence that the vessels were operated by drug cartels.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee who was also briefed last week, refuted Himes’ description 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 hit the ship again to ensure that its cargo is destroyed.”

Cotton said it appeared the individuals were “sitting or standing on a capsized boat, they were not floating helplessly in the water.”

“I don’t think it really matters what they were trying to do,” Cotton said, adding that at one point it seemed like they were trying to rock the boat.

Himes responded to the comments on “Face the Nation” by saying, “as many times as Tom Cotton can say that it doesn’t matter what they did, it basically matters what they did.”

“If someone has been struck and continues to engage in hostilities – they point a gun at you, have a gun – they may be a legitimate target, but if they are outside the 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, let alone engaged in hostilities.”

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 led the mission and who Hegseth said made the decision to hit the boat again.

Himes said people who have worked with Bradley describe him as having had a “rich career and is a man of great integrity.” But he said the incident raises “what happens when a seemingly good man like Admiral Bradley is put in a context where he knows that if he overturns an order that he may not be comfortable with, it is very likely that he will be fired.”

“It’s interesting to think about how a good man in this context can do something that if he wasn’t in this context he might not do,” Himes added.

Hegseth described his own role in the Sept. 2 strikes at the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday, saying he was told there needed to be a “reattack” because there were “a few people who might still be in the fight,” citing possible radio access, drugs still present and a “liaison point with another potential boat.”

“I said, ‘Roger, that looks good,’” Hegseth said. “From what I understood then and what I understand now, I fully support this strike. I would have made the same call myself.”

Asked by Brennan whether the secretary’s statement matched what he was told during the briefing, Himes said “there was a lot of lack of clarity about exactly Pete Hegseth’s role here.”
“But Pete Hegseth has no credibility on this issue,” Himes added.