Dems Call for Release of Video Amid Controversy Over Boat Strikes [View all]

“Deeply disturbing” and “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen”—that’s how top Democratic lawmakers have described classified video they recently watched of a series of strikes on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in September. Now, they’re pushing the Trump Administration to declassify the footage for the public to assess if the attack was appropriate.

“I think it's really important that this video be made public,” Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, who was among the select lawmakers who watched the video in a closed-door briefing last Thursday, told CBS News on Sunday. Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, pointed out that descriptions and interpretations of what lawmakers saw split along party lines, adding: “This is an instance in which I think the American public needs to judge for itself.”

They ought to release the video,” Rep. Adam Smith of Washington told ABC News on Sunday. “If they release the video, then everything that the Republicans are saying will clearly be portrayed to be completely false and people will get a look at it and they will see.”

The Sept. 2 attack on the alleged drug boat, which killed 11 in total, gained renewed scrutiny after reports emerged that the U.S. military killed survivors of an initial strike in a follow-up strike. Since then, Congress members have raised questions on the legality of the military’s actions and who gave such an order.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/dems-call-release-video-amid-063403052.html