Hegseth Says Pentagon Will Not Release 'Top Secret' Boat Strike Video to Public, Claims He's 'Proud of What We're Doing'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon will provide select members of Congress with the full, unedited video of a controversial second U.S. strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat carried out on Sept. 2, but that the footage will remain classified and will not be released publicly.

Speaking to reporters after he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed the full Senate on the Trump administration's counternarcotics operations in the Caribbean, Hegseth said the video would be made available Wednesday to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, along with commentary from the Navy admiral who authorized the strike.

He did however stress the confidential nature of the videos adding that "of course we're not going to release a top secret full unedited video of that to the general public." Hegseth also claimed to be "proud of what we're doing, able to lay it out very directly."

The Sept. 2 incident has drawn scrutiny because a second strike killed two people who survived an initial attack on the vessel. Lawmakers from both parties have pressed the administration for greater transparency, arguing that the circumstances of the follow-on strike raise legal and ethical questions.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday that Hegseth rejected his request to make the unedited video available to all senators and to provide a version suitable for public release. "The administration came to this briefing empty handed," Schumer said, adding that he had already viewed the footage. "I saw it. It was deeply troubling."

Schumer also said he reiterated his demand "that he (Hesgeth) allow every senator to see the unedited video of what happened on September 2. He refused."

Other lawmakers also expressed frustration. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the video should be shown to the full Senate while Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., noted that the Defense Department has previously released footage of other strikes, saying, "they released all the video they liked," as NBC News reports.

The briefing came amid broader congressional concern over the administration's expanding military campaign in the Caribbean, which has included at least 22 strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats since Sept. 2, killing at least 95 people. Rubio told senators on Tuesday the operations had been "highly successful" and would continue.