Representative Shri Thanedar, a Democrat, on December 4 filed articles of impeachment against Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The accusations include murder, conspiracy to murder, and mishandling of classified information. These charges stem from an order to strike a civilian vessel in the Caribbean Sea and an intelligence leak scandal during a strike in Yemen earlier this year.

Thanedar stated that Secretary Hegseth is "totally incompetent" to lead the Pentagon and is endangering American service members. The most serious accusation in the impeachment articles centers on a September 2 directive for the US military to carry out a double strike against two survivors on a boat suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a cabinet meeting in the White House on December 2. Photo: AFP

According to reports cited by Thanedar, Secretary Hegseth ordered soldiers to "eliminate all" individuals on the suspicious vessel. The White House stated on December 1 that Admiral Frank "Mitch" Bradley, head of US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), ordered a follow-up missile launch at the boat, with "approval from Defense Secretary Hegseth".

Thanedar and other Democratic lawmakers consider this a violation of the Department of Defense's Law of War Manual, which prohibits firing upon survivors after a vessel has been sunk.

Admiral Frank Bradley, who directly commanded the operation, reportedly complied with the order by conducting a second airstrike to eliminate the two remaining survivors clinging to debris.

However, when reporting to the US Congress on December 4, Admiral Bradley asserted that Defense Secretary Hegseth did not issue an order to "eliminate all" in the double strike incident. The reason for the discrepancy between Admiral Bradley's report and the information provided by the White House remains unclear.

The US military, under President Donald Trump's administration, has reportedly sunk 21 vessels and caused at least 80 deaths in international waters during anti-drug operations in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Additionally, Hegseth faces accusations related to "Signal Gate," involving the use of the encrypted messaging app Signal on a personal device to discuss plans for an attack on Houthis in Yemen earlier this year.

A report from the Pentagon Inspector General concluded that this action violated security policy and endangered US service members if the information were leaked. This chat group included Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, who was added by mistake.

Representative Shri Thanedar, Michigan, speaking before Capitol Hill on May 14. Photo: AFP

Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson called Thanedar's effort a "charade" aimed at distracting public attention from the Department of Defense's successes. The White House and several senior Republican lawmakers, including Rick Crawford and Tom Cotton, also defended Hegseth, arguing that the suspects on the boat posed a national security threat and that the survivors "still attempted to fight".

House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries commented a few days earlier that efforts to impeach Hegseth are unlikely to succeed, given that Republicans control both chambers of Congress. However, he warned that the statute of limitations for these crimes extends for five years, seemingly implying the possibility of retrospective prosecution once President Trump's term concludes.

In April, Thanedar also submitted impeachment articles against President Trump, but failed to garner support from the Democratic Party. President Trump later mocked the lawmaker as "crazy" at a rally.

Thanh Danh (According to Hill, Chosun)