No kill order was given, says admiral

A Navy admiral commanding the U.S. military strikes on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean told lawmakers Thursday that there was no “kill them all” order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but a stark video of the attack left grave questions as Congress scrutinizes the campaign that killed two survivors.

- BY STEPHEN GROVES AND LISA MASCARO

NAVY Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley ANNA MONEYMAKER Getty Images on Capitol Hill to meet lawmakers Thursday.

Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley appeared for a series of closed-door classified briefings at the Capitol as lawmakers conduct an investigation after a report that he ordered the follow-on attack that killed the survivors to comply with Hegseth’s demands. Legal experts have said such a strike could be a violation of the laws of military warfare.

“Bradley was very clear that he was given no such order, to give no quarter or to kill them all,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, said as he exited a classified briefing.

Although Cotton defended the attack, Democrats who were also briefed and saw video of the survivors being killed questioned the Trump administration’s rationale and said the incident was deeply concerning.

“The order was basically: Destroy the drugs, kill the 11 people on the boat,” said Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Smith, who is demanding further investigation, said the survivors were “basically two shirtless people clinging to the bow of a capsized and inoperable boat, drifting in the water — until the missiles come and kill them.

The classified sessions with Bradley, alongside the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, provided fresh information at a crucial moment as Hegseth’s leadership comes under scrutiny. But they did little to resolve questions about the legal basis for President Trump’s extraordinary campaign to use war powers against suspected drug smugglers. So far more than 80 people have been killed in some 20 strikes.