INVESTIGATE AND IMPEACH PETE HEGSETH, THE DOD’S MOST INCOMPETENT SECRETARY
QUICK READ: For the last three months, as part of the Trump administration’s unauthorized bombing campaign in the Caribbean and Pacific, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered, and the military has carried out, the intentional killing of at least 87 unarmed people in tiny boats who posed no immediate threat to our country Hegseth has also been found to have put American troops at risk by his reckless handling of classified information. For these egregious crimes, unless he immediately resigns, he must be impeached.
CONTENTS:
BACKGROUND
On December 4, while Congress was trying to untangle whether Hegseth’s order to engage a fishing boat with lethal force off the coast of Venezuela on September 2 was a war crime, Hegseth brazenly ordered yet another murder, killing 4.
For three months, the Pentagon carried out these lethal-force murders in near-total secrecy, targeting unarmed people in tiny boats who posed no immediate threat to our country—intentionally killing at least 87 civilians in at least 22 lethal strikes—but only Democrats and legal experts expressed reservations.
Now, upon learning that, while the boat burned on September 2, a second strike was ordered to kill the two survivors, some Republicans fear this might be a war crime.
Members of the two committees viewing the grainy video are demanding more information to help them label this second strike. What they should be investigating is the entire operation’s rationale.
Although Hegseth claims, without supportive evidence, that we’re “at war” with drug cartels and “narco-terrorists,” the 87 victims of these lethal attacks were civilians, not combatants, who were neither waging war against us nor imminently threatening violence. Each of these deaths is an execution without trial, making Hegseth a murderer 87 times over. In any normal administration, he’d be so charged.
Even were this a war, Hegseth would be a murderer—because intentionally killing unarmed civilians and incapacitated combatants violate both federal and international law.
Unless Hegseth immediately resigns, the only way stop these murders and war crimes and prevent him from endangering our troops as he did on Signal, is through impeachment.
ACTION One: Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I am calling to urge you to support the impeachment of Pete Hegseth. He is unfit to be the Secretary of Defense and must be investigated and prosecuted for his unlawful actions. While waiting for the House to act on Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Articles of Impeachment, I expect you and your Senate colleagues to: (1) obtain and release the full September 2 video, (2) immediately hold hearings on the legality of the administration’s unauthorized bombing campaigns, (3) compel sworn testimony from all involved, (4) determine the identity of those responsible for the unlawful killings and refer them to DOJ for prosecution, and 5) prevent any unauthorized expansion of hostilities.
SEN. WYDEN:
Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
I am calling to urge you to support the impeachment of Pete Hegseth. He is unfit to be the Secretary of Defense and must be investigated and prosecuted for his unlawful actions. While waiting for the House to act on Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Articles of Impeachment, I expect you and your Senate colleagues to: (1) obtain and release the full September 2 video, (2) immediately hold hearings on the legality of the administration’s unauthorized bombing campaigns, (3) compel sworn testimony from all involved, (4) determine the identity of those responsible for the unlawful killings and refer them to DOJ for prosecution, and 5) prevent any unauthorized expansion of hostilities.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
I am calling to urge you to support the impeachment of Pete Hegseth. He is unfit to be the Secretary of Defense and must be investigated and prosecuted for his unlawful actions. While waiting for the House to act on Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Articles of Impeachment, I expect you and your Senate colleagues to: (1) obtain and release the full September 2 video, (2) immediately hold hearings on the legality of the administration’s unauthorized bombing campaigns, (3) compel sworn testimony from all involved, (4) determine the identity of those responsible for the unlawful killings and refer them to DOJ for prosecution, and 5) prevent any unauthorized expansion of hostilities.
ACTION TWO: Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Because Pete Hegseth is unfit to be Secretary of Defense and must be investigated and prosecuted for his unlawful actions, I am calling to urge you to co-sponsor and push for hearings—even over Jeffries’ disapproval—on Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Articles of Impeachment, charging him with Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information. At the same time, I expect you and your House colleagues to: : (1) obtain and release the full September 2 video, (2) immediately hold hearings on the legality of the administration’s unauthorized bombing campaigns, (3) compel sworn testimony from all involved, (4) determine the identity of those responsible for the unlawful killings and refer them to DOJ for prosecution, and (5) prevent any unauthorized expansion of hostilities.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Because Pete Hegseth is unfit to be Secretary of Defense and must be investigated and prosecuted for his unlawful actions, I am calling to urge you to co-sponsor and push for hearings—even over Jeffries’ disapproval—on Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Articles of Impeachment, charging him with Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information. At the same time, I expect you and your House colleagues to: : (1) obtain and release the full September 2 video, (2) immediately hold hearings on the legality of the administration’s unauthorized bombing campaigns, (3) compel sworn testimony from all involved, (4) determine the identity of those responsible for the unlawful killings and refer them to DOJ for prosecution, and (5) prevent any unauthorized expansion of hostilities.
Script for Maxine Dexter (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Because Pete Hegseth is unfit to be Secretary of Defense and must be investigated and prosecuted for his unlawful actions, I am calling to urge you to co-sponsor and push for hearings—even over Jeffries’ disapproval—on Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Articles of Impeachment, charging him with Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information. At the same time, I expect you and your House colleagues to: : (1) obtain and release the full September 2 video, (2) immediately hold hearings on the legality of the administration’s unauthorized bombing campaigns, (3) compel sworn testimony from all involved, (4) determine the identity of those responsible for the unlawful killings and refer them to DOJ for prosecution, and (5) prevent any unauthorized expansion of hostilities.
Script for Val Hoyle (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Because Pete Hegseth is unfit to be Secretary of Defense and must be investigated and prosecuted for his unlawful actions, I am calling to urge you to co-sponsor and push for hearings—even over Jeffries’ disapproval—on Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Articles of Impeachment, charging him with Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information. At the same time, I expect you and your House colleagues to: : (1) obtain and release the full September 2 video, (2) immediately hold hearings on the legality of the administration’s unauthorized bombing campaigns, (3) compel sworn testimony from all involved, (4) determine the identity of those responsible for the unlawful killings and refer them to DOJ for prosecution, and (5) prevent any unauthorized expansion of hostilities.
Script for Janelle Bynum (OR-05)
DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Because Pete Hegseth is unfit to be Secretary of Defense and must be investigated and prosecuted for his unlawful actions, I am calling to urge you to co-sponsor and push for hearings—even over Jeffries’ disapproval—on Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Articles of Impeachment, charging him with Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information. At the same time, I expect you and your House colleagues to: : (1) obtain and release the full September 2 video, (2) immediately hold hearings on the legality of the administration’s unauthorized bombing campaigns, (3) compel sworn testimony from all involved, (4) determine the identity of those responsible for the unlawful killings and refer them to DOJ for prosecution, and (5) prevent any unauthorized expansion of hostilities.
Script for Andrea Salinas (OR-06)
Salem office: 503-385-0906 | DC office: 202-225-5643
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Because Pete Hegseth is unfit to be Secretary of Defense and must be investigated and prosecuted for his unlawful actions, I am calling to urge you to co-sponsor and push for hearings—even over Jeffries’ disapproval—on Rep. Shri Thanedar’s Articles of Impeachment, charging him with Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, and Reckless and Unlawful Mishandling of Classified Information. At the same time, I expect you and your House colleagues to: : (1) obtain and release the full September 2 video, (2) immediately hold hearings on the legality of the administration’s unauthorized bombing campaigns, (3) compel sworn testimony from all involved, (4) determine the identity of those responsible for the unlawful killings and refer them to DOJ for prosecution, and (5) prevent any unauthorized expansion of hostilities.
FURTHER READING
What Trump Is Really Doing With His Boat Strikes
Split Screen: Pete Hegseth and the Visual War Machine
Pete Hegseth Should be Charged With Murder
Entire Chain of Command Could be Held Liable for Killing Boat Strike Survivors, Sources Say
Pressure grows on ‘reckless’ Hegseth as twin scandals engulf Pentagon chief
Pete Hegseth Already Bragged About That Second Strike
Calls Grow for Impeachment of Hegseth for ‘Murder,” Even as Jeffries Dumps Cold Water on the Idea
Pentagon Investigator Faults Hegseth for Improper Use of Signal
