Top military official takes wrecking ball to Hegseth's key claim on 'double tap' killing

A top military official undercut a key claim made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the now infamous "double tap" bombing operation on an alleged drug boat in September, according to a new report.

During a briefing with lawmakers, Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley said that the survivors of the Sept. 2 bombing were "in no position to make a distress call," according to a report by CNN, citing three sources familiar with the situation. The survivors' boat had capsized, and other reporting indicates they were working to turn it back over when the U.S. military struck them a second time.

The report adds that Bradley and his colleagues debated for more than 40 minutes about what to do with the survivors.

"Ultimately, Bradley told lawmakers, he ordered a second strike to destroy the remains of the vessel, killing the two survivors, on the grounds that it appeared that part of the vessel remained afloat because it still held cocaine, according to one of the sources," the report reads. "The survivors could hypothetically have floated to safety, been rescued, and carried on with trafficking the drugs, the logic went."

One source with knowledge of the strike described the rationale as "f------ insane," according to CNN.

Hegseth previously claimed that the strike was necessary to "eliminate the threat," The Guardian reported.

Read the entire report by clicking here.