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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that the Pentagon would not release the “top secret, full, unedited video” of the controversial September strike on a suspected drug boat.
However, Hegseth said that “appropriate” congressional committees would see the footage.
“In keeping with longstanding Department of War policy, Department of Defense policy, of course, we’re not going to release a top secret, full, unedited video of that to the general public,” Hegseth told reporters on Tuesday after a bipartisan classified Senate hearing on the strikes.
Hegseth did not take questions nor did he indicate whether an edited version of the video would be released to the public.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also attended the meeting, spoke with reporters as well. He said that he and Hegseth were heading to the House to have a similar briefing with lawmakers there.
After getting a classified video about the strikes, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the military’s actions were “entirely appropriate.”
“The individuals on that vessel were not helpless castaways. They were drug runners on a capsized drug boat and, by all indications, attempting to recover it so they could continue pushing drugs to kill Americans,” Johnson told reporters.
He said there was “another vessel” nearby that the two survivors were “waving their arms” toward so that they could continue onward with “their mission.”
The Sept. 2 strikes on alleged drug boats drew controversy as the second hit was conducted after the first one left two survivors.
The White House confirmed the strikes on Dec. 1 and defended the move, as the administration works to cut off the flow of drugs into the U.S.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Dina Stancy contributed to this report.
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