Defence secretary gave order for strikes but did not say to ‘kill everybody’, according to White House spokesperson
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. A top US Navy commander ordered a second round of strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat on 2 September, not defense secretary Pete Hegseth, the White House has said.
The Washington Post had reported that a second strike was ordered to take out two survivors from the initial strike and to comply with an order by Hegseth that everyone be killed.
Amid accusations that the defense secretary had ordered a war crime, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said yesterday that Hegseth authorised the strikes but did not give an order to “kill everybody”, as the report said.
Leavitt said:
