Lawmakers demand audio and video of boat attack as follow-up strike raises concern on Capitol Hill

By Alison Main, Manu Raju, Annie Grayer, Sarah Ferris, CNN

(CNN) — The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Monday said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed to him there was a second US strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in September — an attack that has drawn bipartisan scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said he expects his committee to have full access to the audio and video of the strikes as part of its investigation into the controversy amid allegations US forces executed a “double-tap” strike after the initial attack wasn’t completely fatal.

“I don’t have that information, but I do think we’ll get that information, and we’re certainly going to have available to us all of the audio and all of the video. At that point, I’ll be able to have a more informed conversation,” Wicker said when asked whether there were any survivors killed in the second strike — something that could be a violation of the laws of war.

“We’re going to conduct oversight, and we’re going to try to get to the facts,” vowed the senator, who said he’d spoken with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and expects to soon speak with Adm. Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, who the White House said ordered the strike.

Wicker’s House counterpart, Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, also spoke with Hegseth over the weekend about the second strike, a source familiar with the call told CNN.

Wicker and Rogers are among many senior Republicans in Congress who are now demanding more details from the White House about its recent military campaign in the Caribbean, raising serious concerns over reports that Pentagon officials ordered a second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug vessel after the initial attack did not kill everyone on board.

The push for transparency from President Donald Trump’s own party comes after weeks of mounting concerns among some GOP lawmakers about the White House’s escalating military operation in the region — a fight in which Congress has had virtually no role.

The White House is facing growing pressure from Congress over the legality of US military strikes, which have killed more than 80 people. The action has drawn questions from Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike, with particular scrutiny in recent days on September’s follow-up strike.

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, a key Senate centrist, said he is still trying to determine the accuracy of certain details of the strike — reported by CNN, The Washington Post and others — including that Hegseth ordered the second strike as the survivors clung to a burning ship.

“Obviously, if it can be substantiated by facts, it’s a violation of both ethical and possibly legal requirements,” Tillis said, adding that he is trying to determine whether it’s “real” or it’s “rage bait.”

“If it is substantiated, whoever made that order needs to get the hell out of Washington,” the North Carolina Republican said.

Another vocal centrist, Rep. Don Bacon, said that it’s a “problem” if reports are true on the strike and that Hegseth wasn’t the “right leader.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a defense hawk who is close to Trump, said he has not spoken about the matter with Hegseth but that he is seeking out “the facts.”

“It’s a long-held rule that survivors of the ship attack are no longer combatants, and an air crew member in a parachute is no longer a combatant. You’re out of the fight,” the South Carolina Republican said. “I don’t know what the facts are, but that’s general law. We’ll see what the facts are.”

GOP Sen. Jim Justice said if a second strike was ordered, “That seems way over the edge to me.” (Justice said he was operating with limited information and didn’t know that the White House confirmed Monday a second strike had occurred.) “I don’t see how that’s acceptable,” he said.

Asked whether the strikes would change his views on Hegseth, the West Virginia Republican said, “I frankly think the world of Pete; I think he’s a good guy” but added, “in that situation, if he made that decision, I think he’s made a bad decision.”

More congressional investigation

Senate intelligence committee leaders, meanwhile, are also in talks over a briefing from Bradley.

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, said he and Chair Tom Cotton are engaging on the issue and he expects to have a preliminary conversation with the admiral this week

“We’ve got to get to the bottom of this,” he said, also calling on the Trump administration to release an unedited video of the strike to help determine “whether these individuals were in the water, on the boat, still combatants or not.”

A member of the “Gang of Eight” congressional leaders who are briefed on classified intelligence, Warner said the Trump administration has not shown “any kind of willingness to come clean on anything.”

“This is not the way the system is supposed to work,” said the Virginia Democrat, who has made clear his exasperation with the Trump administration’s methods of briefing Congress.

Many more Democrats have been sharply critical of the Trump administration’s order for the second strike. Some have called it a war crime.

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said at least one GOP senator — Rand Paul of Kentucky — is expected to join Democrats in an effort to push the Senate to rein in Trump’s military powers in his campaign against drug cartels. They argue that Trump has flouted Congress by not seeking direct approval for the actions.

Sen. Peter Welch said he had “very significant concerns” and wanted to hear directly from Hegseth and his team about the matter.

“Let’s get the answer of what the order was that Hegseth gave,” the Vermont Democrat said.

Some Republicans, however, dismissed the Democrats’ concerns that the move violated long-held principles among nations.

“No, absolutely not,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin told reporters when asked about whether the strike violated international law. “If it was a boat still operative, were they still trying to run? We don’t know what the circumstances are at all.”

“Secretary Hegseth is well within his authority to do what he needs to do here,” Mullin said.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas added that he does not believe “any international law has been violated, and I think the president is well within his constitutional authorities to protect the country.”

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CNN’s Morgan Rimmer and Arlette Saenz contributed to this report.