Hegseth on the Hot Seat

Playbook: “The defense secretary sees not one but two major crises coming to a head today. First up will be publication of the long-awaited inspector-general’s report on his role in the Signalgate fiasco, which saw Hegseth post detailed plans for an upcoming U.S. bombing raid into an unsecured Signal chat group which — unbeknownst to him — included a prominent magazine editor.”

“While we’re all devouring that, naval commander Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley will be privately briefing senior members of Congress on the attack on a Venezuelan boat in September which this week saw Hegseth accused of war crimes. Bradley is the military chief who made the decision to fire a second missile at the ship on Sept. 2, apparently after survivors were spotted on board. The Washington Post reported last week that Hegseth had given a verbal order to kill everyone on board — something Hegseth flatly denies.”