Hegseth won't commit to letting Congress see video of deadly boat strike

Written by: Jessica A. Botelho at ABC 7 News

WASHINGTON (TND) — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth would not commit to showing all members of Congress the full video of a deadly double strike on an alleged drug boat on September 2. He shared the news after he attended a closed-door meeting with Hegseth, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as fellow top lawmakers known as the "Gang of Eight" on Tuesday afternoon. "It was a very unsatisfying briefing," Schumer said after the meeting."I asked Secretary Hegseth -- Secretary of Defense Hegseth -- would he let every member of Congress see the unedited videos of the September 2nd strike? His answer? 'We have to study it,'" Schumer added. "Well, in my view, they studied it long enough. Congress ought to be able to see it. I told him that every member of Congress -- so many members of Congress -- Democrat and Republican -- had a right to see it, wanted to see it, and should see it. In terms of Venezuela, I asked them what their strategy is and what they were doing. Again, I did not get satisfying answers at all."The "Gang of Eight" is comprised of senior leaders of both parties in the House and Senate, as well as the chairs and ranking members of the Intelligence Committees. Last week, Trump was asked if he would release video of the follow-up strike, as Hegseth is facing bipartisan scrutiny over the operation. “I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have we'd certainly release. No problem,” Trump told reporters at the time.While speaking to the media five days later, Trump denied saying he planned to release the video and said it was "ABC fake news" while calling the reporter "obnoxious" and "terrible." "I didn’t say that. You said that," Trump said. "Whatever Hegseth wants to do is OK with me." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the full video should be released. He said he thinks the public should have the opportunity to determine for themselves whether the strike was "consistent with American values." "If Pete Hegseth and the administration think that their actions are justifiable, what are they hiding from the American people?" Jeffries said during an unrelated news briefing on Tuesday, adding that he believes the people on the boat were "not presenting any threat" to the U.S. military. "Release the video."In an X post, Schumer said no one in the Trump administration "can get their story straight" about the double strike. He noted that if the Pentagon fails to release the footage, Congress will restrict Hegseth’s travel budget. "It’s time for Trump and Hegseth to do the right thing. Release the tapes," Schumer wrote ahead of the briefing. "Give the American people the transparency we deserve."Separately on Tuesday, the U.S. Navy admiral who is retiring early from command of the campaign to destroy vessels allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela spoke to key lawmakers overseeing the U.S. military. The classified video call between Adm. Alvin Holsey, who will be retiring from U.S. Southern Command in the coming days, and the GOP chair and ranking Democrat of the Senate Armed Services Committee represented another determined step by lawmakers to get answers about the operation. Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, declined to discuss the specifics of the call, but described Holsey as a “great public servant.” He also said that the Pentagon is weighing whether releasing the video would disclose classified information. During an address on Saturday, Hegseth spoke about the boat strikes on suspected narcotics-trafficking vessels, which are operated by what the Trump administration has classified as a Designated Terrorist Organization. Hegseth vowed to continue to protect America despite recent criticism. He said the U.S. is not a safe haven for narco-terrorists -- and spoke directly to them amid his speech. "Right now, the world is seeing the strength of American resolve and stemming the flow of lethal drugs to our country. Here again, we've been focused and here we've been clear: if you're working for a designated terrorist organization and you bring bring drugs to this country in a boat, we will find you and we will sink you -- make no doubt about it," he said.The most recent strike occurred on Thursday. It marked the 22nd strike under Hegseth since the beginning of September. "On Dec. 4, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization," U.S. Southern Command wrote on a post on X."Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed," according to the post.Trump recently said the U.S. is poised to accelerate its military attacks on Venezuela's alleged drug-carrying boats by implementing land strikes. "Every boat we knock out, we save 25,000 American lives. If you look at our numbers, the drugs coming in through sea are down 91%," Trump told reporters during an unrelated news conference on Wednesday.""But it's down and we're going to start very soon on land and I’m sure you’re very thrilled to hear that," he added. EDITOR'S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.