SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Pete Hegseth is under increasing fire for a double-tap strike, first reported by The Intercept in early September, in which the U.S. military killed two survivors of the Trump administration’s initial boat strike in the Caribbean on September 2.
The Washington Post recently reported that Hegseth personally ordered the follow-up attack, giving a spoken order “to kill everybody.” Multiple military legal experts, lawmakers, and now confidential sources within the government who spoke with The Intercept say Hegseth’s actions could result in the entire chain of command being investigated for a war crime or outright murder.
“Those directly involved in the strike could be charged with murder under the UCMJ or federal law,” said Todd Huntley, a former Staff Judge Advocate who served as a legal adviser on Joint Special Operations task forces conducting drone strikes in Afghanistan and elsewhere, using shorthand for the Uniform Code of Military Justice. “This is about as clear of a case being patently illegal that subordinates would probably not be able to successfully use a following-orders defense.”
Spoiler: they won’t.
50/50 they pardon everyone or Trump uses this opportunity to forcefully retire more generals and get Hegseth out.
“held liable” means some bad press in ‘radical left’ media at this point, right?
I could bite my finger off too. Doesn’t mean shit.
Uhm, it’s secretary of war
Could be, but won’t. At least, not under this regime.
Maybe its ethics. Maybe some folks in the chain of command have the fear of God in them. Maybe there’s just better pay in the private sector and now is as good a time as any to cash out. But I suspect stories like this are going to be increasingly common in the run up to the '26 election.
Future President Pete Buttigieg will have a cabinet full of people who drew the line at double-tapping a Venezuelan fisherman. And they’ll be spearheading our next Great Ethical War with… idk, Argentina or South Africa or something.
we can hope for some high-profile resignations and maybe an outspoken admiral or something. And remember, it’s only Trump’s DOJ until it isn’t anymore, and I think the statute of limitations on murder is more than 3 years…
Not a Trumper soadministration’s? Implied but doesn’t this fall under the same reasoning as all the indiscriminate drone bombing from the Bush and Obama administrations?
See that’s why they make everyone pull the trigger when they commit murder. Now they’re all complicit, and they have to work for trump and keep him in power. Because if someone with a spine that actually follows the law and constitution gets into office they will face court-martial.
But we all know that they’ll just get raked over the coals by some committee and told to retire, if that, should a dem take office.
Pardons all around -orange turd
This is actually the example they use of an illegal order in the DOD manual.
Page 1117 18.3.2.1 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23892053-dod-law-of-war-manual-june-2015-updated-july-2023/
This should be top of the thread everywhere this story is mentioned, forever.
Nooo, but trump and all his totally cool and not criminal bros said that the president cannot give an illegal order…
No no, he limits himself to “Clearly illegal” orders, normal illegal is beneath him.
Incredible
Including the commander in chief
I worked at Fort Lewis in the RCF (Regional Correctional Facility, aka prison) and we had an Army soldier who got 3 years for 1st degree murder because he mercy killed a combatant after they got covered in white phosphorous. Literally everyone was like “how the fuck do you only get 3 years for first degree murder?” and then when they read his court documents were like “what the fuck, you got screwed and obviously everyone knew it…” They legally determined that at the moment they were no longer fighting back they became non-combatants and to kill a non-combatant instead of rendering aid is murder. Since the judge and jury agreed that it did violate the law, but hoped that if they were ever in that combatant’s shoes, they would want someone to do to them what this soldier did, so yeah, guilty, but sentenced to the bare minimum allowed.
I know for 100% fact there is precedent already. But that is rules for thee, not for them, so I highly doubt we’ll see anything happen. I’m sure they’ll claim they need immunity because they were operating under special rules of engagement or some bullshit, and it will take years and lots of lawyers and in the end it’ll drag on until its forgotten about and gets quietly dismissed somewhere.
100% nothing will happen, or they will just get pardoned. USA is done. Kaput. All hail Nazi USA.
Fairly sure the pardons are already filled out and signed preemptively.
They don’t even waste time by having them individually singed. Just copy and paste!
Ooh ooh how bout an autopen!
with fascists, every accusation is an admission
with fascists, every accusation is an admission
Once again, A LITTLE LOUDER FOR THE DOLTS IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM.
When dealing with fascists and Republicans - they are the same but Republicans have less scruples and more money -
“EVERY ACCUSATION IS AN ADMISSION.”
no, the autopen is treasonous
Fits Trump to a T then
it’s only treason when Demonocrats do it
They couldn’t get the auto pen to look stay dumb so they just had rubber stamps made.
You can buy them from your local maga roadside tent for $200
Even before the USA was kaput, double tapping became typical US strategy under the Obama administration, which makes me even more confident that nobody will face any consequences for this. To try Trump they’d have to try Obama.
To try Trump they’d have to try Obama.
Ok, and?
I really don’t understand why people (GOPers mainly, it seems) trot this line out every time there’s the “threat” of a Repub being (gasp) held accountable for something…
We don’t fucking CARE! GOOD! Prosecute the criminals! It doesn’t matter what side they’re on politically!
Some of us don’t hang our hat on individual cults of personality and just want the rules applied equally all the way across. Why is this so difficult to understand?
We don’t fucking CARE! GOOD! Prosecute the criminals! It doesn’t matter what side they’re on politically!
You don’t care, but the people in power do. That’s the point I was making.
And……. Nothing will happen. As both commentators said and are, depressingly, probably correct.
That’s not how the US establishment rolls. Both sides will protect their man and that will be it.
Yes, bOtH SiDeS BaD!!1
Yes, both sides are in fact bad but that’s not really the point I’m making here. Please work on your reading comprehension.
“reading comprehension” is the standard excuse for those whose MOs have accurately been assessed.
Ah, yes, everyone knows reading comprehension is actually Russian propaganda.
If not bad, why let war crimes go unpunished?
Yankistani dumbass.
Thanks for letting us know this extremely valuable feedback. Democrat bad. I am now converted.
Must not could
Could is not news. Ever.
Could.
But won’t.
