President Donald Trump has said that the decision on whether or not to release footage of the deadly September 2 “double tap” missile strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean rests with his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“Whatever Hegseth wants to do is okay with me,” the president told reporters Monday, backtracking on his own comments last week that “whatever” video the Pentagon possesses “we’d certainly release, no problem,” which he now denies having said.
Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meanwhile brief the top lawmakers on Capitol Hill, known as the “Gang of Eight,” behind closed doors Tuesday, presenting their long-term national security strategy for the United States.
The Gang of Eight refers to the House and Senate minority and majority leaders and the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
The trio are also expected to be grilled about the Trump administration’s strikes on the so-called trafficking boats and the controversial video in question, which was shown to shocked lawmakers in Congress last week, some of whom emerged calling for it to be made public.
Donald Trump insists he never said he would release double-tap boat strike video
The president has said that the decision on whether or not to release footage of the deadly September 2 “double tap” missile strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean rests with his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“Whatever Hegseth wants to do is okay with me,” the president told reporters Monday, backtracking on his own comments last week that “whatever” video the Pentagon possesses “we’d certainly release, no problem,” which he now denies having said.
When asked to commit to the publication of the video by ABC News’s senior political correspondent Rachel Scott, who simply presented Trump with his own words, the president once again lashed out, calling her “the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place. Let me just tell you: you are an obnoxious – actually a terrible – reporter and it’s always the same thing with you.”
Andrew Feinberg reports.
Good morning
Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the Donald Trump administration as the president’s top defense officials prepare to brief the top lawmakers on Capitol Hill about their long-term national security plans for the United States.
