Destitution process is a “political staging”

O u.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth today argued that the process of destitution initiated against him is a “political staging” and a “media coup”, refusing to apologize for the war in Iran.

“What a defeated and bitter deputy tries to do is not a oversight work or an initiative to demand responsibilities. It is a political staging, a personal manifesto dictated by ego and resentment,” Hegseth said to journalists at a press conference at the Pentagon, referring to the ‘impeachment’ resolution presented against you in the House of Representatives (low chamber) by Republican deputy Thomas Massie.

“It’s a farce and a media coup,” he continued, in a speech in which he stressed that he will never apologize for the actions against Iran and the attacks against vessels allegedly transporting drugs to the United States.

Although he enjoys the support of American President Donald Trump, Hegseth may even be the face that will face the wave of contestation against the war of Washington and Tel Aviv launched against Tehran on February 28.

The Secretary of Defense has been one of the members of the Trump administration who has been most challenged in these first two years of office, both by the decision to attack Iran without ever going through the US Congress, and by the bombing of ships off the coast of the United States, considered by the Democratic opposition and by some Republicans as “extrajudicial executions”.

In addition to these cases is the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cili Flores and the resignation of several senior positions at the Pentagon, including high-ranking generals, among others.

“ As for the charges itself: Iran, the cartels, Maduro, Yemen, everything was a legal operation ordered by the commander-in-chief and then, by me, notified to Congress and executed by American fighters who did their duty,” Hegseth said in his speech.

The charges presented by Massie include “the conduct of the war against Iran without legislative authorization”, attacks on vessels of alleged drug traffickers, military operations in Yemen and the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, whose legality he questions.

“On the eve of Veterans’ Day — which is celebrated tomorrow in the United States — these resolutions tell each of them that their service was a crime. Your service was not a crime. They are heroes, and no politician in Washington will tell them otherwise as long as I occupy this position”, he defended.

Hegseth supported “each of these operations”.

“ I was proud to have carried them out and I would do it again tomorrow,” he said.

The Pentagon leader considered that it is the first time in the history of the United States that “a member of the government responsible for the country’s armed forces is being attacked, not for losing conflicts against our enemies, but for winning them.”.

However, the process of ‘impeachment’ presented by Republican Thomas Massie – who lost the primary elections to an opponent supported by Trump, so he will lose his place in the House of Representatives – will most likely not be approved due to the Republican majority in the House.

Still, Massie indicated that even if the resolution was not adopted, his goal is to put pressure on the Trump administration to fire Hegseth.

In his resolution, the Kentucky congressman accuses the secretary of breaking the law by leading the war against Iran without Congress' permission.

He further accuses Hegseth of having “ignored laws aimed at minimizing the number of civilian victims,” highlighting in particular the bombing of a primary school in Minab, southern Iran, which cost 120 children their lives in the early hours of the conflict.

Pete Hegseth is also pointed out by “extrajudicial executions”. Under its leadership, the US Armed Forces have carried out attacks on vessels of alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and the Pacific, a campaign that has been severely criticized in the light of international law.

Thomas Massie also denounced “the kidnapping of a sovereign foreign leader,” referring to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, which took place in January.