Bipartisan senators call on Hegseth to release strike orders on alleged drug boats in Caribbean
A bipartisan pair of senators are calling on Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to hand over copies of the orders issued to strike boats in the Caribbean allegedly carrying narco-terrorists.Sens. Jack...
By Fox News · Fox News
A bipartisan pair of senators are calling on Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to hand over copies of the orders issued to strike boats in the Caribbean allegedly carrying narco-terrorists. Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., released two letters they sent to Hegseth in recent weeks in response to the repeated strikes on suspected drug boats. The first letter, which was issued on Sept. 23, explained the legal requirements for congressional oversight over the military's executed orders, including that congressional defense committees must be provided copies of the orders within 15 days of being issued. "Unfortunately, the Department has not complied with this requirement," the letter reads. HEGSETH SAYS MILITARY CONDUCTED ANOTHER STRIKE ON BOAT CARRYING ALLEGED NARCO-TERRORISTS The second letter, issued on Oct. 6, seeks a written opinion from the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on the domestic or international legal basis for conducting the strikes and related operations. Reports indicate that the OLC produced a legal opinion justifying the strikes, which numerous lawmakers have been demanding in recent weeks. The senators' letter also asked for a complete list "of all designated terrorist organizations and drug trafficking organizations with whom the President has determined the United States is in a non-international armed conflict and against whom lethal military force may be used." "To date, these documents have not been submitted," Reed’s office said in a news release on Friday. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have urged the Trump administration to release information related to the strikes. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized the administration on Thursday after it excluded Democrats from briefings on the strikes, a move he called "indefensible and dangerous." SEN WARNER BLASTS TRUMP ADMIN FOR EXCLUDING DEMOCRATS FROM BRIEFINGS ON BOAT STRIKES: 'DEEPLY TROUBLING' On Wed…