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John Berman Forces Clear Answer From Sen. Tom Cotton Over Legality Of U.S. Strikes On Suspected Drug Boats

05:08 AM, 12/06/2025

During a heated CNN segment, John Berman pressed Sen. Tom Cotton over the legality of U.S. strikes on vessels accused of carrying drugs, spotlighting a September double‑tap attack near Trinidad that killed two survivors. The White House ultimately confirmed the second strike after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth initially called reports "fake news." Berman forced a direct answer to his hypothetical — "The answer is no" — saying it would not be legal for Arkansas police to kill suspected traffickers in an overturned boat. Cotton defended presidential authority to use military force against foreign terrorist organizations, highlighting the broader legal debate over maritime strikes.

John Berman Presses Sen. Tom Cotton Over Legal Limits Of Maritime Strikes

CNN anchor John Berman, guest-hosting The Lead, grew visibly frustrated during a tense exchange with Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) as he pressed for a clear answer about U.S. strikes on vessels the administration says were carrying drugs.

Berman focused on a controversial double‑tap strike on a boat near Trinidad in September. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth initially dismissed reports of a second strike as "fake news," but the White House later confirmed that the follow‑up attack targeted two survivors clinging to wreckage; both were killed. Legal scholars and critics have widely described the second strike as unlawful under U.S. and international law, and have questioned the administration's broader maritime bombing campaign in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Berman: "Would it be legal for police in Arkansas to kill suspected drug dealers on a boat in an overturned lake?"

Cotton repeatedly rejected the premise, framing the incidents as part of a broader counter‑threat to the United States. He argued that critics oppose the entire operation, not just a single follow‑up strike, and stressed presidential authority to use force against foreign terrorist organizations.

Cotton: "The president has inherent authority as commander‑in‑chief under the Constitution to protect America using our armed forces against a foreign terrorist organization."

Berman returned to his hypothetical and, after some back-and-forth, supplied the direct answer himself: "The answer is no, it would not be legal" for Arkansas police to kill suspected traffickers in an overturned boat on a lake. He then asked when Congress had authorized the use of military force in this particular maritime context; Cotton emphasized the president's constitutional authorities and statutory mechanisms for designating foreign terrorist organizations.

The exchange underscored the legal and ethical tensions surrounding the administration's campaign of strikes on suspected drug‑carrying vessels: questions over the scope of presidential power, the role of congressional authorization, and whether particular attacks comply with domestic and international law.

Watch the full exchange via CNN.

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