The Pentagon inspector general’s office conducted a thorough review of Signal chat scandal, and its findings were brutal for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth: As MS NOW reported, the beleaguered Cabinet secretary shared classified information, failed to preserve records and put military operations and service members at risk.
Just two days after the IG report reached the public, Hegseth appeared at the Reagan National Defense Forum, where he had an opportunity to express a degree of contrition. The secretary instead said he didn’t have “any regrets,” despite the misconduct that he really ought to regret.
But that’s not all he said. The New York Times reported:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday was noncommittal about releasing the full video of the U.S. military’s Sept. 2 attack on a boat in the Caribbean, after President Trump said he would release whatever footage his administration had.
At issue is a video of the deadly military strikes on a civilian boat in international waters on Sept. 2, which included a second strike that killed those who survived the initial salvo, sparking an intense debate about whether the Trump administration committed a war crime.
As recently as Wednesday, after a reporter asked about releasing the full video of what transpired in the Caribbean, the president said, “I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have we’d certainly release, no problem.”
Three days later, his defense secretary said something very different.
“We’re reviewing the process, and we’ll see,” Hegseth said when pressed on whether he’ll choose transparency.
It’s worth emphasizing for context that the Pentagon chief didn’t have any qualms about releasing the video of the initial Sept. 2 strike soon after it happened. Now, however, he’s hedging about releasing the part of the footage that makes the operation even more scandalous. Imagine that. As for reactions on Capitol Hill, Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, appeared on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” and made his perspective plain. “I think it’s really important that this video be made public,” the Connecticut congressman said, adding, “You know, I have spent years looking at videos of lethal action taken, often in the terrorism context. And this video was profoundly shaking. “And I think it’s important for Americans to see it, because, look, there’s a certain amount of sympathy out there for going after drug runners. But I think it’s really important that people see what it looks like when the full force the United States military is turned on two guys who are clinging to a piece of wood and about to go under, just so that they have sort of a visceral feel for what it is that we’re doing.”
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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