‘It’s Very Possible There Was A War Crime’: Lawmakers Sound The Alarm Over Boat Strike Report

Lawmakers from both parties plan to ramp up scrutiny of the Trump administration's attacks on alleged drug boats.

In the wake of a report in The Washington Post, lawmakers from both parties are raising concerns about a deadly boat strike carried out by the administration earlier this year.

Last week, The Washington Post revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered members of the military to kill everyone on board an alleged drug boat on September 2. After an initial strike on the vessel, there were still two survivors seen holding onto the boat’s wreckage, according to The Post. The Special Operations Commander then allegedly ordered a second strike ― which killed the two survivors ― to “comply with Hegseth’s instructions.”

It wasn’t clear if Hegseth was aware that there were survivors before the second strike, a source told CNN.

“I think it’s very possible there was a war crime committed,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said during a Sunday appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

“...This rises to the level of a war crime if it’s true,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, echoed during a Sunday interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”