On the eve of a House impeachment vote, self-styled Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made a rare appearance before the Pentagon press corps.
asserted
Hegseth → style → corps
Over half an hour, he declared every military operation he has overseen “lawful” and claims of civilian harm “slander.”
uncertain
claims → declare → harm
He said the Iran war was a great victory and only 18 Americans have died in the conflict.
asserted
Americans → say → conflict
He also claimed that the effort to impeach him was a stunt by just “one disgruntled congressman.”
asserted
effort → claim → congressman
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced articles of impeachment on the House floor Monday afternoon, charging Hegseth with “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
asserted
Massie → introduce → crimes
Democrats are overwhelmingly expected to join Massie’s effort following their midterm election landslide.
asserted
Democrats → expect → landslide
“I am a hard yes on the Hegseth resolution,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the presumed next House speaker.
asserted
Jeffries → say → York
Massie wrote on X that if his impeachment resolution advances Tuesday evening, he will request a separate vote on each of the eight articles.
asserted
he → write → articles
“I’ve heard from several members they agree with some of the Articles of Impeachment but not all of them,” Massie wrote.
asserted
Massie → hear → them
“If the motion to kill my resolution by referring it to committee fails, and we proceed to the Articles themselves, I’ll request a vote on each of the Articles separately.”
asserted
I → kill → Articles
As Hegseth steels himself for a vote that could see him put on trial in the Senate and sink his chances of serving for the rest of Trump’s term, The Intercept is dissecting his self-defense and examining Hegseth’s false claims about his disastrous war-making.
Everything Was “Lawful” and “Notified to Congress”
“Iran, the cartels, Maduro, Yemen — every one was a lawful operation ordered by the commander-in-chief, then ordered by myself, notified to Congress, and executed by American warriors who did their jobs.
uncertain
who → steel → jobs
Experts in the laws of war, a Pentagon official, and members of Congress from both parties say Hegseth’s boat strikes against “cartels,” which have now killed upward of 240 people, are illegal extrajudicial killings.
asserted
which → say → people
The military is not permitted to deliberately target civilians — even suspected criminals — who do not pose an imminent threat of violence.
asserted
who → permit → violence
Sarah Harrison, who previously advised Pentagon policymakers on issues related to human rights and the law of war, said that the attack on Venezuela was also a clear violation of international law and that the administration’s justifications for the raid were baseless.
Of the Iran war, Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, a former chief of international law at U.S. Central Command, said the opening strike “clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution,” which requires the president to seek congressional approval to start a war in most cases.
asserted
which → advise → cases
Harrison Mann, a former U.S. Army officer and intelligence official and now the associate director for campaigns and policy at Win Without War, drew specific attention to the attacks on the bridges and water reservoirs in Iran.
asserted
Mann → draw → Iran
It is “quite dangerous to be conditioning the U.S. military to carry out orders that are clearly war crimes,” he warned.
asserted
he → condition → orders
Congress never authorized the Iran war, and a call to the congressional “Gang of Eight” the night before is not the formal report experts say the law requires.
asserted
law → authorize → Eight
Following the January attack on Venezuela, Republicans privately complained they were not told in advance.
asserted
they → follow → advance
“The Terrorists That We Hunt”
asserted
We → hunt → That
“As to the claim that the American military targets civilians, well, that is a lie and that is a slander against every professional who flew, sailed, and fought on these missions.
uncertain
who → target → missions
The only people who target civilians are the terrorists that we hunt.”
asserted
we → target → that
The U.S. boat strike campaign has only targeted civilians.
asserted
campaign → target → civilians
The summary executions of more than 240 people are a significant departure from standard practice in the long-running U.S. war on drugs, in which law enforcement agencies detained suspected drug smugglers and brought them to trial on criminal charges.
asserted
agencies → run → charges
A U.S. military investigation also found U.S. forces attacked an elementary school in Minab, Iran, killing more than 150 people, most of them children.
asserted
most → find → them
One official called it “colossal negligence.”
asserted
official → call → it
For months, Central Command has failed to answer questions about additional civilian casualties, including eight members of a family — the youngest, a 20-day-old infant — killed in an attack documented in an Intercept investigation.
asserted
Command → fail → investigation
These attacks came after Hegseth conducted a comprehensive campaign to undermine efforts to prevent and mitigate civilian harm.
asserted
Hegseth → come → harm
The Pentagon’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, for example, slashed its staff from 40 personnel in January 2025 to just nine by the end of the year, according to the report.
uncertain
Center → slash → report
“Dead Where They Should Be”
“More than 70 narco vessels sunk.
asserted
vessels → sink → ?
Maritime smuggling down at least 65 percent and dropping even further.”
asserted
smuggling → drop → ?
Hegseth misstates the toll of his own boat strike campaign.
asserted
Hegseth → misstate → campaign
The Intercept’s tracker counts 72 strikes and at least 243 dead.
asserted
tracker → count → strikes
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., after reviewing classified material, wrote that the evidence suggests the military killed people not involved in drug trafficking.
uncertain
military → review → trafficking
A top Pentagon Joint Staff official told lawmakers in a classified briefing that victims of human trafficking could be among the dead of the first strike.
uncertain
victims → tell → strike
The drug claims fare no better.
uncertain
claims → fare → ?
Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Americas Security Affairs Joseph Humire, for example, offered completely different numbers to Congress, telling the House Armed Services Committee in March that there “has been a 20 percent reduction of movements of drug vessels in the Caribbean and an additional 25 percent reduction in the Eastern Pacific.”
asserted
Humire → offer → Pacific
The Pentagon’s latest civilian casualty report, meanwhile, claims no civilians were killed in the boat strikes.
uncertain
civilians → claim → strikes
One U.S. official said it had “absolutely no credibility.”
asserted
it → say → credibility
Iran Was a “Historic Military Victory”
“By every measure, we achieved a historic military victory.
asserted
we → achieve → victory
The conflict undermined the decades-old U.S. security framework, as well as America’s archipelago of bases, in the Middle East.
asserted
conflict → undermine → East
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
