Schumer Demands Unedited Strike Footage — “What Is Hegseth Hiding?

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats intensified pressure on the Trump administration this week, demanding the release of unedited military strike footage from an operation carried out in the Caribbean earlier this year, as concerns mount over transparency, congressional oversight and the risk of unintended escalation near Venezuela.

At the center of the dispute is Chuck Schumer, who accused the Pentagon of stonewalling lawmakers by refusing to share raw video from a September 2 strike on a vessel described by U.S. officials as a suspected drug boat. Mr. Schumer said that without full access to the footage, Congress cannot properly assess what happened — or whether the administration’s public explanations are complete.

“Anything less than full and unedited access for every senator is unacceptable,” Mr. Schumer said, adding that continued delays raise a troubling question: what, exactly, is being withheld.

The footage is now a focal point ahead of a classified, all-senators briefing scheduled for this week, to be led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The briefing is expected to cover recent U.S. military activity in the Caribbean, including operations in waters near Venezuela.

Mr. Schumer said he had asked Mr. Hegseth directly whether the Pentagon would provide the video to all senators. According to the senator, the defense secretary did not say no — but did not say yes either, responding instead that he needed more time to “study” the issue. That answer, Mr. Schumer argued, was insufficient given that the strikes occurred months ago and the footage already exists.

“This is not an exotic request,” Mr. Schumer said. “It is basic oversight.”

The clash highlights a broader tension between Congress and the executive branch over how much information lawmakers are entitled to receive when U.S. forces use lethal force abroad. Under the Constitution, the military is under civilian control, and civilians — including cabinet secretaries — are accountable to Congress. Senators authorize funding, approve military leaders and, in many cases, determine whether operations expand or end.

Edited footage, Mr. Schumer and other lawmakers argue, is not enough. Edited videos can omit context, compress timelines and remove errors, giving lawmakers a narrative rather than evidence. Raw footage, by contrast, shows what happened before and after a strike, how quickly decisions were made and whether official justifications align with reality.

“Oversight without primary evidence isn’t oversight,” one Senate aide said privately. “It’s trust-based governance.”

The administration has not publicly explained why the footage has not yet been shared in full. Pentagon officials have cited the need to review sensitive material, but have not identified specific legal or national security barriers preventing senators from viewing the video in a secure setting.

Mr. Schumer linked the transparency dispute to growing unease over the administration’s broader posture in the region. The United States has deployed thousands of troops and a major aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, but lawmakers say the public has received little clarity about the mission’s objectives, limits or exit strategy.

“We keep getting different answers,” Mr. Schumer said. “The American people deserve to know what the goal is and how far this could go.”

Those concerns were sharpened by a recent near miss between a U.S. Air Force tanker and a commercial JetBlue aircraft flying toward the United States. According to reports, the military aircraft did not have its transponder activated and crossed directly into the civilian plane’s flight path, forcing evasive action to avoid a collision.

To Mr. Schumer, the incident underscored how quickly a single error — in crowded airspace or contested waters — could spiral into catastrophe. “One accident, one miscommunication, and things can spin out of control,” he said.

The administration’s approach has also revived fears of “mission creep,” a familiar pattern in which limited military actions gradually expand into prolonged conflicts without explicit congressional approval. Critics argue that insufficient disclosure at early stages makes it harder for lawmakers to draw clear lines before escalation occurs.

The White House declined to comment directly on Mr. Schumer’s remarks, referring questions to the Defense Department. A Pentagon spokesman said officials would address senators’ concerns during the upcoming briefing.

For Mr. Schumer and other lawmakers, the issue is not partisan advantage but institutional responsibility. “If there’s nothing troubling in the footage, there’s no reason Congress shouldn’t see it,” he said. “And if there is something troubling, that’s exactly why we must.”

As tensions simmer in the Caribbean, the dispute has become a test of how the administration balances secrecy and accountability — and of whether Congress will insist on its role before, rather than after, irreversible decisions are made.