Michigan Democrat leader, Indian-origin Rep Shri Thanedar announced he would file articles of impeachment against Defense secretary Pete Hegseth who is under major scrutiny over his order to strike a small boat off the coast of Venezuela allegedly carrying narcotics. According to reports, during the September strike, Hegseth allegedly issued a verbal order to “kill everybody” on board. After the first strike, when survivors were clinging to the wreckage, a second strike was ordered by Hegseth, wiping them out. “Pete Hegseth is uniquely unqualified for his role. Every day, it becomes clearer that he is engaging in unlawful, illegal activity,” Thanedar said, explaining that he has prepared two articles of impeachment against Hegseth, one for the Venezuela bungle and the second for the Signal Gate that took place earlier this year. “One for the murder and conspiracy to murder and another for reckless, unlawful mishandling of classified information,” Thanedar said, adding that the Venezuelan boat was a civilian one and there was no hostility from the boat. “Congress has not declared war on Venezuela. Hegseth and the administration gave the excuse of fighting narco-terrorism but provided no evidence for their claim. These are extra-judicial, unlawful killings. This was murder,” Thanedar said. Then Thanedar referred to the Signal Gate where Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was included in a Signal chat group along with Hegseth, Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Thanedar said both controversies show the need for accountability from both parties, using the discharge petition to force a vote on a bill to release all of the files in convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s case as an example of bipartisan support. President Trump later signed the legislation into law.“If Republicans are willing to look at this for the merit of this case and not just their loyalty to President Trump, this can be done,” the Michigan Democrat said. “Republicans need to look at this as laws that have been broken. War crimes have been committed. And Hegseth — the secretary is refusing to show up.”While the Signal Gate is a matter of the past, Hegseth addressed the row over his Venezuela order and said he got to know about the second strike hours later
