Pete Hegseth continues his transition to War Criminal. His hormone treatment may have to cease though. And no one's buying the lies that Hegseth, Chump, Propaganda Pig Karoline Leavitt and others have been pimping. Another crack in the attempted cover up? Andre Damon (WSWS) notes:
On Saturday, NBC reported that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “ordered the US military on September 2 to kill all 11 people” on a motorboat traveling between Venezuela and Trinidad, contradicting the administration’s denials that no such order was given.
The report substantiates the claim made by the Washington Post in a report on November 28 that Hegseth gave a “spoken directive” and that “The order was to kill everybody.”
NBC’s report contradicts the statement also issued by Hegseth Saturday that allegations that he gave an order to “kill everybody” were “patently ridiculous.”
Following an initial attack on a civilian speedboat in the Caribbean on September 2, the US military, at the direction of Admiral Frank Bradley, launched a second strike, targeting two survivors who had climbed on top of the capsized boat and were reportedly waving at US military aircraft in a request for rescue. The US military launched two more strikes, sinking what was left of the boat in a likely effort to conceal their crimes.
The Pentagon’s law of war manual declares that soldiers have a duty to refuse to carry out “clearly illegal” orders, such as killing shipwrecked sailors. “Orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal,” the manual declares.
The story isn't going away. People are focused on this. Let me note right now that we won't be noting Chump and his night of tributes. Not gong to promote it even to criticize it. Chump wanted the attention. Others may give it to him, we're denying him the attention for that We would be very caustic if we covered it but he would love even that attention. He won't get it from us.
The scandal's not going away. And Congress isn't being silent. Sarah Fortinsky (THE HILL) reports:
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot and combat veteran, said the military operation that killed 11 alleged drug traffickers, including two initial survivors, in the Caribbean in early September was “essentially murder.”
In a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Duckworth pushed back on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comparison of the operation in the Caribbean to the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq, where both Duckworth and Hegseth deployed.
“Well, there was actually a vote by Congress to put us at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was no such a vote, there was no such debate here in this situation,” Duckworth said.
She praised military personnel as “the utmost professionals” but said, “The problem is, they have not been authorized to be at war.”
Duckworth said she sees critical differences in the way the operations are being carried out. For one thing, she said, the individuals targeted by the U.S. military in the alleged drug boat “were not even aimed at the United States.”
Here's the video.
And it's not just Democrats like Tammy Duckworth. SKY NEWS notes:
Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney claims some members of the Republican Party are beginning to “push back” against US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s boat strikes. “It’s interesting to me as an observer because it’s one of the places that the Republican Party, on the hill, the Senate and the House, have started to push back a little bit against the Trump administration,” Mr Mulvaney told Sky News Australia. “Now you’ve got some very high-profile Republican senators and high-profile Republican House members starting to call Hegseth’s decision-making, especially regarding these Venezuelan drug boats, into question.”
Congress is talking about it. The story gets more and more traction. Snigdha Gairola (BENZINGA) reports:
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is demanding full transparency from the Pentagon after a recent military strike reportedly killed shipwrecked survivors at sea, calling the action both unlawful and morally unacceptable.
On Sunday, Schiff posted on X, criticized the killing as "a textbook violation of the laws of war" and called on the Pentagon to release the full video.
"If Hegseth is so proud of the killing of these survivors, the Pentagon should release the full video, just like they have with other boat strikes," he said.
And Kaja Hubbard (CBS NEWS) notes:
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."
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
***(WARNING: Graphic Content) Photos of Wilmer’s injuries, photos of Wilmer and his children, and partial video of his detainment are available to the press HERE***
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement condemning the violent and unwarranted assault of her constituent, Wilmer Toledo-Martinez, and calling for his immediate release from the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC).
“On November 14, 2025, my constituent Wilmer was mauled by an ICE attack dog even though he has consistently explained that he was not resisting arrest or attempting to flee. His wife and two of his young children, ages two and three, all U.S. citizens, were forced to watch helplessly as he was violently attacked and dragged away. For hours afterward, he was denied even basic medical care following this unprovoked assault. The photos documenting his injuries are horrific. This should shock the conscience of every one of us. I do not want to live in an America where federal agents can sic attack dogs on peaceful residents with impunity and face no consequences.
“While Donald Trump’s entire mass deportation agenda has been nothing short of depraved, this is especially sickening. By now, everyone should realize, Trump is not going after violent criminals or the worst of the worst—he is terrorizing everyone, including U.S. citizens and their loved ones.
“I am calling for Wilmer’s immediate release from NWIPC—he has no criminal convictions, he poses no threat to the community, and he urgently needs appropriate medical care since ICE is denying him the treatment he requires. I am grateful for Wilmer’s willingness to let me share his story—there’s no telling how many similar stories are not being told for fear of retaliation. Every one of us must demand justice and accountability and every one of us must speak out against these kinds of human rights abuses.”
According to his attorney, Wilmer was violently detained by ICE and mauled by an attack dog despite not resisting arrest or attempting to flee. An ICE agent lured Wilmer out of his home under false pretenses, posing as a construction worker who claimed to have hit Wilmer’s car and needed him to step outside to verify. Another agent, accompanied by a dog, was hiding nearby and released the dog on Wilmer shortly after he stepped outside. Following the attack, Wilmer was left shaking and dizzy, and at one point his vision went black, yet he was denied medical care for hours. He was eventually taken to a hospital, where he received stitches for his injuries. He was prescribed antibiotics and additional medication, but the antibiotics were not provided immediately, and the other medication was never provided. Throughout his detention, Wilmer has repeatedly reported that obtaining adequate medical care has been extremely difficult. Wilmer, who is currently undocumented, was brought to the United States at the age of 15. Wilmer is married to a U.S. citizen and is the father of three U.S. born children, ages two, three, and seven, and this brutality has devastated the entire family.
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The following sites updated:
