A week ago, Donald Trump said releasing the Sept. 2 boat strike video would be “no problem.” On Tuesday, Pete Hegseth reclassified that promise into a lie. They might think they’ve dodged this one, but the secrecy only strengthened the war crime allegations.
On December 16, following a classified briefing on Capitol Hill, several officials stopped to address reporters about the controversial second strike on drug-running boats in the Caribbean. The video of that strike has been at the center of mounting scrutiny, especially after Trump publicly suggested its release would pose no issue at all.
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff opened the sequence by cutting straight to the point. He announced plans to introduce a unanimous consent request to release the strike video not just to Congress, but to the public. Schiff said the legal and strategic justifications for secrecy were “incoherent” and stressed that Americans deserve to see what was done. Because if the strike was lawful and justified, transparency shouldn’t be a threat.
Then came Trump’s troops. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that the briefing was classified and described the broader mission as “highly successful.” He did not explain why a video Trump himself described as harmless now required secrecy. Instead, he leaned on repetition. Bipartisan briefings, ongoing engagement, and national security buzzwords filled the space where answers should have been.
Pete Hegseth denies releasing the second strike video to the public
Finally, Pete Hegseth stepped in and completed the reversal. He echoed Rubio’s praise of the mission and confirmed that Congress would be shown the unedited September 2nd video tomorrow. But then, he detonated the administration’s credibility with one line. “We are not going to release a top-secret, full, unedited video of that to the general public.”
Hegseth declared that the strike video is now “top secret” and “classified,” and thus will not be released to the public. He cited the longstanding Department of Defense policy as justification for his backtrack.
It’s all classified. We can’t talk about it now. Tomorrow, we will allow the HASC and SSC to see the unedited video of September 2nd alongside Admiral Bradley. But in keeping with longstanding Department of Defense policy, we are not going to release a top-secret, full, unedited video of that to the general public. HASC, SSC, and appropriate committees will see it, but not the general public.”
Ironically, Trump told reporters that releasing the footage would be “no problem” only a week ago. He framed it as routine, uncontroversial, and easy. But Hegseth, standing in front of cameras days later, said the exact opposite. According to him, the strike video is so sensitive that the public cannot be trusted to see it at all.
But we all know you don’t suddenly discover something is top secret after saying it’s harmless. Unless, of course, the content reveals something you want hidden. As one user on X puts it, “Dude is literally sweating, lol. A full investigation into this man needs to happen immediately. He’s 1000000% guilty.”
And it’s warranted. As soon as Sen. Schiff publicly challenged the justifications, the administration pivoted from confidence to concealment. And transparency? Look around the corner, it should be right there in the trash can.
Published: Dec 18, 2025 10:48 am