Trump administration is 'selling out' admiral to shield Hegseth over boat strikes, officials say [View all]

White House names Adm Frank M Bradley as officer who ‘directed the engagement’, distancing Hegseth from accountability

The Pentagon on Tuesday scapegoated a Navy admiral for the extrajudicial double-tap strike that killed survivors of a September attack on an alleged drug boat and vowed to continue operations, even as lawmakers investigate whether the attack constituted a war crime.

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The White House statement came after Trump said on Sunday he “wouldn’t have wanted that – not a second strike” when asked about the incident, and claimed Hegseth told him “he did not order the death of those two men”. The president added: “And I believe him.”

The administration’s apparent effort to distance Hegseth from the operation has not flown under the radar for some elected officials.

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The White House’s legal justification for the strikes, outlined in a classified justice department office of legal counsel opinion reviewed by the Guardian, treats the operations as targeting cocaine rather than people – meaning anyone killed on board should be considered an enemy casualty or collateral damage rather than a murder victim.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/02/us-admiral-to-brief-lawmakers-as-bipartisan-scrutiny-grows-over-boat-strike