White House distances Hegseth from second strike on alleged drug boat – US politics live

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Answering questions on Air Force One on Sunday, Donald Trump said his administration “will look into” the reports of the second strike on the alleged boat on 2 September. But the president was quoted as having said: “I wouldn’t have wanted that – not a second strike.”

White House distances defense secretary from second strike on alleged drug boat

Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. A top US Navy commander ordered a second round of strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat on 2 September, not defense secretary Pete Hegseth, the White House has said.

The Washington Post had reported that a second strike was ordered to take out two survivors from the initial strike and to comply with an order by Hegseth that everyone be killed.

Amid accusations that the defense secretary had ordered a war crime, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said yesterday that Hegseth authorised the strikes but did not give an order to “kill everybody”, as the report said.

Pete Hegseth has declared recent reporting that he may have illegally ordered all people to be killed in a military strike in the Caribbean as “fake news”. Photograph: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Leavitt said:

Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.

When asked by a journalist to explain how the strike was not an example of a war crime, Leavitt again defended the actions, saying it was “conducted in international waters and in accordance with the law of armed conflict”.

US Navy vice admiral Frank Bradley, who was commander of Joint Special Operations Command at the time of the attack, will provide a classified briefing to lawmakers on Thursday.

US Navy vice admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley will provide a classified briefing to lawmakers on Thursday. Photograph: US Special Operations Command/Reuters

Hegseth pledged his support for Bradley in a social media post which cast the decision as one made by the commander, not him.

“Let’s make one thing crystal clear: Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made – on the September 2 mission and all others since. America is fortunate to have such men protecting us,” Hegseth wrote.

Both the Senate and House armed services committee chairs have announced probes into the allegations, with few details currently disclosed on who or what was on board the vessel.

Since September, US airstrikes have targeted alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 83 people.

Trump’s administration has offered no concrete evidence to back up the allegations behind its deadly conduct, and numerous experts have questioned the legality of the operations.