US House speaker to meet with defense, foreign secretaries on classified Venezuela boat strike video
Mike Johnson says he will meet with Pentagon chief Hegseth and Secretary of State Rubio 'individually'
US House Speaker Mike Johnson
WASHINGTON
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that he will meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after missing a closed-door briefing on a controversial Sept. 2 boat strike off the coast of Venezuela.
Johnson told reporters he was unable to attend the Tuesday briefing of the “Gang of Eight” – intelligence committee and Senate and House of Representatives leaders from both parties – where top lawmakers were shown video of a second strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela. The second strike has drawn scrutiny for targeting two survivors of the first strike who were reportedly staying afloat by clinging to debris from the boat.
"I was not in the Gang of Eight briefing yesterday because we were working on the health care stuff," said Johnson.
“I told Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Rubio I wouldn’t make it, so they’re going to meet with me individually," he added without giving further information about the time.
The speaker confirmed he has not yet seen the video at the center of growing bipartisan demands for wider congressional access, but noted that senior lawmakers have already viewed it.
The upcoming briefing for Johnson comes as pressure mounts on the administration to release the full, unedited footage to the full Congress — and potentially to the public.
The strike killing the two survivors from the first attack has put the Pentagon in the hot seat, with Hegseth saying that Adm. Frank Bradley, who commanded the operation, authorized the second strike.
The Sept. 2 strike was the first of 22 that the Pentagon has carried out in recent months on alleged drug boats, killing more than 85 people. Evidence of drug smuggling has not been provided, and some legal scholars have said the summary execution of the people on board, without due process, is potentially illegal.
Hegseth said Saturday that the strikes would continue.
While the administration maintains the second strike was lawful and necessary, members of Congress and legal experts have raised doubts, with some Democrats warning that targeting survivors who posed no threat could amount to a war crime.
