Moulton Accuses Hegseth of War Crimes in Boat Strikes

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., accused Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of committing war crimes on Wednesday, comparing U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean to actions by Nazi submarine captains prosecuted after World War II. The remarks came during a House Armed Services Committee hearing and a subsequent CNN interview.

Moulton pressed Hegseth at the hearing over the Trump administration's operations targeting vessels linked to narcoterrorism. He questioned whether strikes on survivors constituted violations of the Geneva Conventions. Hegseth responded that U.S. forces follow established rules of engagement, emphasizing an evidence-based process that relies on intelligence to confirm targets' ties to designated terrorist organizations. "We know who's on the boat, what they're doing, what they're carrying," Hegseth said during a prior Cabinet meeting, praising military professionals like Adm. Mitch Bradley.

In the CNN interview with Erin Burnett, Moulton reiterated his claims when asked if Hegseth was guilty of war crimes. "Absolutely," he replied. Moulton argued that confirmation of narcoterrorists on the boats was unclear and cited press reports...