Washington — Top lawmakers are receiving a classified briefing from key Pentagon officials about the Trump administration’s campaign against alleged drug trafficking boats off the coast of South America, as Congress seeks more information about a September strike that has become a flashpoint on Capitol Hill.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, head of Special Operations Command, arrived Thursday morning at the Capitol, where they were expected to brief the leaders of the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees for both the House and the Senate behind closed doors.
The Pentagon has been under fire since the Washington Post reported last week that a Sept. 2 strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat included a second attack that killed two survivors of the initial strike. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the decision to strike the boat again was made by Bradley, the mission’s commander. The survivors were attempting to climb back onto the boat before it was hit a second time, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News on Wednesday.
The Post’s report sparked bipartisan concern from lawmakers and pledges to investigate. Though the administration has argued the follow-on strike was legal and justified, members of Congress and experts have questioned its legality, with accusations from some Democrats that it would constitute a war crime if the second strike targeted survivors.
Bradley is expected to show video from the Sept. 2 attack and walk through his decisions during the briefing, a source familiar with the matter told CBS News.
The strike was the first of the administration’s campaign, which has now destroyed more than 20 boats and killed more than 80 people. The strikes attracted scrutiny from lawmakers even before the Post’s report, since the administration is conducting them without authorization from Congress. The administration has argued it has the legal authority to conduct the strikes because it has designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations and U.S. troops are not in harm’s way.