14 minutes ago
DOJ should open war crimes investigation against Hegseth, Lieu says
From Ross O'Keefe
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., right, listens while Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., speaks on Trump's immigration executive orders at the Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) said the Department of Justice should open a war crimes inquiry against Hegseth, he wrote on social media Thursday.
“The Department of Justice must open a war crimes investigation,” he wrote on X.
“Video evidence now appears to confirm a war crime occurred. If the Trump DOJ does not investigate, a future Administration will because there is no statute of limitations for war crimes. This issue isn’t going away,” he added.
Other House Democrats have accused Hegseth of war crimes for the subsequent strikes on a disabled alleged drug boat in September. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) said on Wednesday that he would introduce articles of impeachment on Thursday over the alleged war crimes, but it’s unclear if he has yet.
44 minutes ago
Trump thanks Rubio for renaming Institute of Peace building after him
From Ross O'Keefe
President Donald Trump's name is seen on the United State Institute of Peace building, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Matthew Lee)
President Donald Trump thanked Secretary of State Marco Rubio for renaming the U.S. Institute of Peace after himself.
“Thank you for putting a certain name on that building,” Trump told Rubio during a meeting with African leaders. “That’s a great honor.”
Rubio renamed the building the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace on Wednesday. “President Trump will be remembered by history as the President of Peace. It’s time our State Department display that,” the department wrote on X. In the president’s past business life, he was famous for naming his properties after himself.
The president has also lauded himself for his peace efforts in the Middle East and elsewhere. Among his most notable efforts is the ceasefire and peace plan between Hamas and Israel, which was enacted in October.
Trump hopes to secure the Nobel Peace Prize for his global efforts.
1 hour ago
House intel chair Crawford feels ‘confident’ following Bradley boat strike briefing
From Ross O'Keefe
Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill, May 17, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
House Intelligence Committee chairman Rick Crawford (R-AR) expressed confidence following a classified briefing from Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley and does not feel the need to question Hegseth further.
“I feel confident and have no further questions of Hegseth,” Crawford told CNN.
Bradley briefed Crawford on the U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean, which have stirred controversy around Hegseth, particularly around his order to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged drug boat in September.
When asked about the second strike on the alleged drug boat, Crawford said he would not disclose the details of the briefing but that he was “satisfied” with the information he received. He said the second strike was justified and that he understands Bradley ordered the second strike.
“We shouldn’t be surprised when we send folks to do a mission, when they do their mission,” Crawford added.
2 hours ago
Trump orders flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of fallen National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom
From Ross O'Keefe
The flag on the roof of the White House is seen after bring lowered to half staff in honor of Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Thursday in honor of fallen National Guard soldier and Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom.
Beckstrom died following a shooting near a Washington Metro station last month. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who was also shot, is still battling his injuries.
The president said that flags across the country would be lowered to half-staff as a “mark of respect for the memory of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom.”
The order applies to flags near the White House, military installations, U.S. embassies and consulates, naval vessels, and public buildings until sunset on Thursday.
2 hours ago
Signalgate report finds Hegseth improperly shared ‘sensitive, nonpublic, operational information’ but didn’t break law
From Brady Knox
The War Department’s Office of Inspector General’s final report scrutinizing Hegseth’s role ruled that the secretary shared “sensitive, nonpublic, operational information” over Signal but did not break the law.
The inspector general ultimately accepted Hegseth’s argument that, as secretary, he had the authority to declassify information at will. However, it did not hold that he took affirmative action to determine that the information “did not require classification” before he sent it over Signal.
Though Hegseth was cleared of any lawbreaking, the report still said that he violated internal War Department instructions that prohibit “using a personal device for official business and using a non-approved commercially available messaging application to send nonpublic DoD information.”
2 hours ago
Signalgate investigation complicated by refusal of Hegseth to testify and autodeletion of messages
From Brady Knox
The War Department’s Office of Inspector General’s investigation into Hegseth’s part in Signalgate was complicated by the secretary’s refusal to be interviewed, and Signal’s autodeletion of messages.
The Pentagon only provided a partial copy of messages due to the Signal chat’s autodeletion feature, forcing investigators to rely on screenshots from The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Another major issue was Hegseth’s dogged refusal to be interviewed in person, instead submitting written answers to the inquiry’s questions.
In these answers, Hegseth argued that “he has authority to decide whether information should be classified and whether classified materials no longer require protection,” and only shared “‘non-specific general details’ that he determined, as an original classification authority, were either not classified or that he could safely declassify and use to create an ‘unclassified summary’ to provide to the Signal chat participants.”
2 hours ago
Signalgate report finds Hegseth shared previously classified information over Signal
From Brady Knox
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
The War Department’s Office of Inspector General’s final report scrutinizing Hegseth’s role in sharing sensitive information over an unsecured Signal chat found that he shared information previously regarded as classified through the app.
The report stated that the head of U.S. Central Command sent a secure message to Hegseth over a secure channel roughly 17 hours before the Yemen strikes began, containing information designated as classified. Hegseth went on to share that information with other administration officials on Signal over his personal cellphone.
The Pentagon has argued that Hegseth can declassify any information he wants, so the information wasn’t classified when he shared it, a view shared by the report itself.
3 hours ago
Himes says Bradley briefing disproves ‘kill-them-all’ order
From Brady Knox
The ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes (D-MA), said Adm. Mitch Bradley’s classified briefing showed there was never a “kill-them-all” order given regarding the strikes on suspected drug boats, and that those giving the orders “did the right thing.”
“Let me just say this: Admiral Bradley and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff did the right thing. And Admiral Bradley defended the decisions taken, and Admiral Bradley has a storied career, and he has my respect, and he should have the respect of all of us,” Himes said.
He said the video of the second strike was “one of the most troubling things” he’d ever seen.
“The last thing I’m going to say is that the admiral confirmed that there had not been a kill-them-all order and that there was not an order to grant no quarter,” he told reporters.
Himes’s comments contradict the first report on the matter from the Washington Post, which claimed Hegseth had ordered those engaging the drug boats to “kill them all.” Subsequent reports questioned this portrayal of events, reports apparently confirmed by Himes.
The comments would place the blame for the follow-up strike squarely on Bradley, rather than Hegseth.
3 hours ago
Signalgate report released
From Brady Knox
The War Department’s Office of Inspector General released its 84-page final report scrutinizing Hegseth’s role in sharing sensitive information over an unsecured Signal chat.
The report revolves around Hegseth’s actions in March, which came to light after a journalist was included in a group chat where he discussed impending U.S. military operations.
Several outlets got preliminary looks at the report, which ruled that Hegseth had violated War Department protocol through his actions. However, it also concluded that, as the secretary, he has the authority to declassify any information he wants, a source familiar with the final report told the Washington Examiner.
3 hours ago
House Democrat says unedited video of second boat strike ‘one of the most troubling scenes’ he’s seen
From Brady Knox
The ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes (D-MA), described an unedited video of a second strike on a suspected drug smuggling boat as deeply disturbing.
“What I saw in that room is one of the most troubling scenes I’ve seen in my time in public service,” he said, after emerging from his briefing with Adm. Mitch Bradley.
Bradley will now give the same briefing to the equivalent Senate committee. Early reports said that he would argue that the people targeted in the second strike were “legitimate targets.”
4 hours ago
Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker indicates Signalgate report vindicates Hegseth
From Brady Knox
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) said the final Signalgate report showed Hegseth acted within his authority.
After calling for an independent review of Hegseth earlier this year, Wicker said Thursday that the war secretary “acted within his authority to communicate the information in question to other Cabinet-level officials.”
He offered a defense of his use of Signal, arguing that more communication tools are needed to allow top national security officials “to communicate classified information in real time and a variety of environments.”
4 hours ago
Dan Caine accompanies Mitch Bradley to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers
From Brady Knox
U.S. Navy Adm. Frank M. Bradley, accompanied by Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, walks to a meeting with senators on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is accompanying Adm. Mitch Bradley to Capitol Hill, where he is set to brief lawmakers on a controversial Sept. 2 boat strike.
Caine’s presence indicates the wider military’s defense of Bradley, who has emerged as responsible for the decision to launch a follow-up strike to kill surviving suspected drug traffickers after their boat was hit in a kinetic strike.
Bradley is expected to tell the congressional leaders that the survivors of the initial strike killed in a follow-up bombing were “legitimate targets.” He will brief the Republican chairmen and ranking Democrats of the House and Senate Armed Services committees and meet separately with Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Mark Warner (D-VA), the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively.
4 hours ago
Fighting rages on in eastern Congo as leaders travel to Washington for peace signing
From Brady Knox
People walk in the mining town of Rubaya, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, as a measles vaccination campaign gets underway. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
The meeting of longtime rivals, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, is set to be historic, but the continuation of fighting in the eastern Congo leaves little hope of it ending the three-decade-old conflict.
The two leaders agreed to meet in Washington to sign the symbolic peace treaty as part of the June 27 Washington agreement; however, none of the conditions stipulated in the treaty have been met, and all the deadlines have passed without any implementation.
The peace deal called for the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from Congo within 90 days, the implementation of an economic integration framework within 90 days, and the establishment of a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days.
The related Doha agreement, which was directly between the Congolese government and the M23 rebels, also failed to be implemented.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner in October, Congo Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka, directly appointed by Tsishekedi, voiced hope that the peace treaty could be saved, but said the onus was on Rwanda to withdraw its troops.
In the days leading up to the meeting, the Congo accused the Rwandan Army of directly taking part in an offensive alongside M23 rebels against government positions in Kaziba, Katogota, and Lubarika.
The conflict in the eastern Congo has been raging for over 30 years and remains the bloodiest conflict since World War II, with some estimates putting the death toll at over 5 million.
4 hours ago
Signalgate report to be released today
From Brady Knox
A final report scrutinizing Hegseth’s role in sharing sensitive information over an unsecured Signal chat will be released on Thursday.
The War Department’s Office of Inspector General completed its review of Hegseth’s actions in March, which came to light after a journalist was included in a group chat where he discussed impending U.S. military operations, and will release an unclassified version of its findings.
Several outlets got preliminary looks at the report, which ruled that Hegseth had violated War Department protocol through his actions. However, it also concluded that, as the secretary, he has the authority to declassify any information he wants, a source familiar with the final report told the Washington Examiner.
Click here to read more.
4 hours ago
Adm. Mitch Bradley to tell Congress boat strike survivors were ‘legitimate targets’
From Brady Knox, Mike Brest
Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley is set to brief the Republican chairmen and ranking Democrats of the House and Senate Armed Services committees on the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat.
Bradley is expected to tell the congressional leaders that the survivors of the initial strike killed in a follow-up bombing were “legitimate targets.” Hegseth and Bradley have been criticized for the order to do a second strike.
“Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley plans to say he and his legal adviser concluded the two survivors were attempting to continue their drug run, making them and the already-damaged vessel legitimate targets for another attack, two defense officials said,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Bradley, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, will also separately meet with Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Mark Warner (D-VA), the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively.
Click here to read more.
