Lawmakers in Congress question legality of second strike on alleged drug boat

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN

(CNN) — Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle voiced serious concerns over the weekend over reports on a follow-up strike that killed survivors on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean, with some suggesting it could constitute a “war crime.”

Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said the follow-up strike was “completely outside of anything that has been discussed with Congress” about the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean.

“Obviously, if that occurred, that would be very serious, and I agree that that would be an illegal act,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, told CBS that the attack “rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true.”

Sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN that the military carried out a follow-up strike on a suspected drug vessel operating in the Caribbean on September 2 after an initial attack did not kill everyone on board. Before the operation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the military to ensure the strike killed everyone on board, but it’s not clear whether he knew there were survivors before the second strike, one of the sources said.

Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who has been a target of the Trump administration’s ire for participating in a video reminding service members of their duty to disobey illegal orders, said Sunday that the strike could possibly be a war crime.

“It seems to,” Kelly, a former fighter pilot who served in the Navy for 25 years, told CNN’s Dana Bash.

“If what has been reported is accurate, I’ve got serious concerns about anybody in that … chain of command stepping over a line that they should never step over,” Kelly said on “State of the Union.”

The comments come after the Republican-led Senate and House armed services committees pledged oversight on the follow-up strike.

The Senate Armed Service Committee’s Republican chair, Sen. Roger Wicker, and top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed, said in a statement late Friday they “will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”

They were followed by their counterparts in the House, Reps. Mike Rogers and Adam Smith, who said Saturday they are “taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting” of the strike.

CNN previously reported that people briefed on the “double-tap” strike said they were concerned that it could violate the law of armed conflict, which prohibits the execution of an enemy combatant who is “hors de combat,” or taken out of the fight due to injury or surrender.

While the first strike appeared to disable the boat and cause deaths, the military assessed there were survivors, according to sources familiar with the matter. The second attack killed the remaining crew on board, bringing the total death toll to 11, and sank the ship.

Hegseth in a social media post Friday continued to defend the strikes on alleged drug boats, writing, “Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command.”

President Donald Trump expressed confidence on Sunday that Hegseth did not order a second strike and signaled that he would not have approved of one.

“No. 1, I don’t know that that happened, and Pete said he did not want them — he didn’t even know what people were talking about,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “So, we’ll look into it, but no, I wouldn’t have wanted that, not a second strike.”

Asked whether he believes there wasn’t a second strike, Trump said, “I don’t know; I’m going to find out about it. But Pete said he did not order the death of those two men.”

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Alison Main and Kit Maher contributed to this report.

The story and headline have been updated with additional information.

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