“It’s very difficult to justify”

Leading Democrats on Sunday called for the release of secret video of the first U.S. military operation against a ship in the Caribbean in early September, an attack that has drawn intense scrutiny at times the follow-up attack that killed two survivors.

Democrats and Republicans have offered very different descriptions of the video, which was viewed by some members of Congress but not released. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said it was “simply not correct” to have the video of the Sept. 2 attack on the boat transported 11 people will show it to the survivors trying to turn over the overturned boat, are saving their cargo and continuing the drug trade, as Republicans in Congress have alleged.

“It seems pretty clear that they don’t want to release this video because They don’t want people to see it.Because It’s very, very difficult to justify” Smith, who saw the footage last week, said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who viewed the video in a closed news conference last week, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. the two survivors “were barely alive.”let alone participated in hostilities” when the follow-up attack took place.

“If you watch the video, you realize they don’t have a radio,” he said. “They’re barely hanging on.”

Leading Democrats, including Himes, have said they trust U.S. intelligence agencies that indicate ships attacked in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific were involved in drug trafficking. But Himes said this on Sunday did not believe the Trump administration knew the identities of the 11 dead during the attack on the ship on September 2nd.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would have “no problem” releasing the secret video. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he may not release the footage because he doesn’t want to “Compromise sources and methods.”

“We’re reviewing the process and we’ll see,” Hegseth said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum.

Smith rebutted Hegseth’s argument, saying the video was “no different than any of the dozen or more videos” that Hegseth and the Defense Department have posted on social media.