Pentagon weighs release of double-tap strike footage

• Intelligence Chair and Army veteran Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) supports releasing the full video footage, and told Axios that Defense officials told him in a Thursday briefing that such a move was "under consideration."
• President Trump said during an interview Wednesday night that he had no problem releasing the video.
• Navy Admiral Frank Bradley and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine briefed top lawmakers behind closed doors, including showing the video footage.

What he's saying: "The briefing demonstrated exactly what I thought it would demonstrate — that these were righteous strikes completely within the law of armed conflict," Cotton said in a brief phone interview with Axios.

• Cotton called reporting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave orders to leave no one alive a "total lie" and a "complete fabrication," making the point publicly following the briefing as well as to Axios.
• Cotton said there had been a written operation order calling for the conduct "consistent with the laws of war," and that in a separate strike in October, there were survivors deemed shipwrecked who were ultimately picked up by their home country.

Zoom out: While some Republicans have demanded more information about the operations, Cotton sees no need for an increased congressional role.

• "I believe the president has all the authority he needs to conduct these strikes right now," he told Axios, adding he thinks the War Powers Act has not been implicated and is unconstitutional.
• Cotton also praised Hegseth for "doing the exact missions and operations that the president expects him to," saying they "talk regularly, and he's been a great champion for a lot of my priorities."