Former Top Pentagon Lawyer Says Hegseth’s Finger-Pointing After Boat Survivor Killings Won’t Work: ‘I Don’t See It Playing Out Well’
The former top lawyer for the Pentagon said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is ultimately responsible for a strike that killed survivors after the U.S. bombed an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that ahead of the Sept. 2 bombing off the coast of Trinidad, Hegseth ordered everyone on the vessel killed. After the first strike, which was conducted by the Navy, two survivors remained, clinging to the wreckage. Admiral Frank Bradley reportedly deemed that the survivors were legitimate targets and ordered that Hegseth’s directive be carried out. The Navy hit the boat again, killing the survivors.
Ryan Goodman, who served as General Counsel in the Department of Defense, appeared on Monday’s OutFront, where Erin Burnett read a tweet from Hegseth that said, “Admiral Mitch Bradley is an American hero, a true professional, and has my 100% support. I stand by him and the combat decisions he has made.”
“Hmm,” Goodman reacted.
Burnett noted that Hegseth was essentially saying Bradley is the person responsible.
“So it’s pretty clear what Hegseth is saying. ‘It’s not me, it’s him,'” she told Goodman. “How do you see this playing out?”
He responded:
I don’t see it playing out well for Secretary Hegseth. Worst case scenario is what The Washington Post has reported and what CNN has reported, which is that Secretary Hegseth is the one who told Admiral Bradley that he wanted to ensure that there would be no survivors. That’s the worst case scenario. The best case scenario for him is that he gave some instruction to Admiral Bradley, who then interpreted it to mean the very same thing. That would also hold Secretary Hegseth responsible.
Goodman went on to say that attacking shipwreck survivors is the exact instance the Pentagon’s Law of War Manual uses as an example for when service members should refuse “illegal orders.”
“It is the textbook example that the Department of Defense Law of War Manual gives for when somebody should refuse a clearly illegal order,” he said. “The very example they give is firing on shipwrecked individuals.”
Watch above via CNN.
