Top Dem Says Admiral in Charge of ‘Double Tap’ Strike Cleared Hegseth of WaPo’s ‘Kill Them All’ Accusation

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on Thursday that Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley denied The Washington Post’s report that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave a “kill them all” order against an alleged drug smuggling boat.

“The Admiral confirmed that there had not been a kill them all order and that there was not an order to grant no quarter,” Himes told reporters on Thursday after a briefing with Bradley.

According to a Post report, citing two people with direct knowledge of the situation, Hegseth gave a “kill them all” order against a suspected drug-smuggling boat off the Trinidad coast on September 2. According to the reported timeline, Hegseth gave his order, the boat was hit, and then the admiral gave a second order to take out two remaining survivors. Bradley reportedly saw the two remaining survivors as legitimate threats.

According to the Post, Bradley “told people on the secure conference call that the survivors were still legitimate targets because they could theoretically call other traffickers to retrieve them and their cargo, according to two people.”

Administration officials have denied that Bradley’s order was to comply with a “kill them all” directive from Hegseth.

“As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” Hegseth wrote on X after the report dropped.

Himes said the footage of the strike was “one of the most troubling things” he’d ever seen in his time in office.

“Yes, they were carrying drugs. They were not in the position to continue their mission in any way,” he said. “We don’t, we don’t — People will someday see this video and they will see that that video shows — If you don’t have the broader context — an attack on shipwrecked sailors.”

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