Hegseth, Pentagon stand by explanation of second boat strike

“Our operations in the SOUTHCOM region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict,” Wilson said. “These actions have also been approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command.”

Wilson repeatedly described the boats as narco-terrorist vessels at the Pentagon's first press briefing under this administration, underscoring that the terrorist designation allows the Trump administration to respond more forcefully while remaining within the law.

Democrats and some Republicans have questioned the legality of the strike, with some calling it a war crime. After the first strike, there were allegedly only two people left, clinging to the remains of their boat in the water. U.S. and international law both prohibit excessive violence against people who no longer pose a threat.

The Washington Post article that broke the story said that Hegseth ordered the Sept. 2 strike. The administration has exhaustively called the story “fake news,” and the New York Times wrote that multiple inside sources said Hegseth never gave an order to kill the survivors. 

Wilson and Hegseth both restated Tuesday what the administration said previously: that Hegseth authorized lethal strikes against drug boats, but Navy Adm. Frank Bradley ordered the strike. They also affirmed that Hegseth and the department fully support Bradley.

Bradley was working under “clear and long-standing authorities” when he ordered the second strike, according to Wilson. During the Cabinet meeting, Hegseth spoke about the War Department’s accomplishments, but concluded with a word about the incident.  

“As President Trump always has our back,” – the president has said he believes Hegseth’s claims that he did not order the strike – “we always have the back of our commanders who are making decisions in difficult situations that we do in this case and all these strikes,” Hegseth said. “They're making judgment calls and ensuring that they defend the American people. They've done the right things. We'll keep doing that, and we have their backs.”

Hegseth was asked Tuesday about his remarks in September indicating he had watched footage of the strike live. He said he had watched the first strike and then turned to other responsibilities.

"I watched that first strike lock. As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we've got a lot of things to do, so I didn't stick around for the hour, two hours or whatever that all the sensitive site exploitation digitally occurs."

After another question during Trump's cabinet meeting, Hegseth later added: "I did not personally see survivors. The thing was on fire. This is what is called the fog of war."

Hegseth wasn't happy with the line of questioning.

"This is what you in the press don't understand," he said. "You sit in your air-conditioned offices, and you plant fake stories in The Washington Post, not based in any truth at all."

The last time Hegseth came under this level of scrutiny was after the Signal chat delineating attack plans on Houthi rebel groups mistakenly included Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg.

The possibility of greater military action against Venezuela looms, as Trump called for the country’s airspace to be closed over the weekend and has said the U.S. will pursue Venezuelan drug traffickers in land strikes, as well.