Hegseth says he’s weighing releasing boat strike video

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders Tuesday that he was still weighing whether to release the full video of an attack on an alleged drug boat that killed two survivors, even as he faced intensifying demands from Congress for disclosure.

- By STEPHEN GROVES AND Lisa MASCARO

Hegseth provided a classified briefing for congressional leaders alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top national security officials. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that when he asked the Defense secretary whether he would allow every member of Congress to view the video of the attack from September, Hegseth’s response was: “We have to study it.”

But lawmakers are demanding a full accounting from the Department of Defense on the strikes that killed two people who were clinging to the wreckage of an initial strike. Legal experts say that action may have violated the laws governing the use of deadly military force. The situation has awakened the Republican-controlled Congress to its oversight role after months of frustration about the trickle of information from the Pentagon.

Schumer described the briefing as “very unsatisfying” and added that “every member of Congress — so many members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans — had a right to see it, wanted to see it, and should see it.”