Watching The View’s panel gasp when Sunny Hostin suddenly admits “I can’t speak to the law of it” was a rare moment of honesty — and it came two seconds too late. Hostin, who spent years as a federal prosecutor and now pontificates daily about justice from a cushy studio, nonetheless joined the chorus accusing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of “war crimes” based on reports he ordered a second strike that eliminated survivors of a Venezuelan drug-boat attack.
The underlying reporting is explosive: multiple outlets say a September strike was followed by a second impact that killed individuals who may already have been incapacitated, and sources allege Hegseth told subordinates to “kill them all.” That allegation, if true, is the gravity of the moment and the reason Congress and the public are demanding answers.
Law-of-war scholars and even past military lawyers are rightly alarmed that killing shipwrecked or hors de combat persons would breach long-standing principles of the laws of armed conflict and Pentagon manuals. This is not merely liberal hand-wringing; respected analysts point out the difference between lawful use of force against armed combatants and the unlawful killing of those no longer capable of fighting.
At the same time, the Biden-era soft-on-crime crowd on daytime TV cannot be allowed to weaponize ignorance. The White House and the Pentagon have released partial footage and explanations, and lawmakers are moving to force the release of unedited video and withhold portions of Hegseth’s travel funds until full transparency is provided. The American people deserve the whole truth, not soundbites meant to inflame.
Conservatives have every right to defend strong action against international drug cartels that have trafficked poison into our towns for decades, and the Trump administration’s designation of some cartels as terrorist organizations reflected the gravity of the threat. But defending a robust response to cartels does not mean turning a blind eye to illegal or immoral conduct; if proven, unlawful killings must be investigated, and commanders held accountable. Honest patriotism demands both toughness and the rule of law.
Which brings us back to Hostin: a onetime federal prosecutor who now lectures the country about international law while admitting she’s “not a geopolitical expert” and can’t “speak to the law of it.” That kind of selective expertise — loudly proclaimed on national television only when it fits a partisan narrative — is exactly what corrodes public trust. The people who sent our troops and taxpayers’ money expect better from journalists than virtue signaling and secondhand outrage.
Republicans should lead the push for transparency and accountability: demand the unedited footage, press the Pentagon and the White House for full legal memos, and ensure our servicemembers are neither used as political props nor allowed to skirt the law. Americans can support bold measures to stop narco-terrorism and still insist on lawful conduct; that balance is what separates patriotism from partisanship.
