IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 935 
Impeaching Peter B. Hegseth, Secretary of Defense of the United States, 
for high crimes and misdemeanors. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 9, 2025 
Mr. THANEDAR submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Impeaching Peter B. Hegseth, Secretary of Defense of the 
United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors. 
Resolved, That Peter B. Hegseth, Secretary of De-
fense, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, 
and that the following articles of impeachment be exhib-
ited to the Senate: 
Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of 
Representatives of the United States of America in the 
name of itself and of the people of the United States of 
America, against Peter B. Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, 
in maintenance and support of its impeachment against 
him for high crimes and misdemeanors. 
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•HRES 935 IH 
ARTICLE I: MURDER AND CONSPIRACY TO MURDER 
Section 1111 of title 18, United States Code, provides 
that ‘‘Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being 
with malice aforethought’’ and that ‘‘Every murder per-
petrated by . . . willful, deliberate, malicious, and pre-
meditated killing . . . or perpetrated from a premeditated 
design unlawfully and maliciously to effect the death of 
any human being other than him who is killed, is murder 
in the first degree’’. 
Section 1111 of title 18, United States Code, further 
provides that ‘‘Within the special maritime and territorial 
jurisdiction of the United States, Whoever is guilty of 
murder in the first degree shall be punished by death or 
by imprisonment for life’’. 
Section 1117 of title 18, United States Code, provides 
for the offense of conspiracy to murder, in that ‘‘If two 
or more persons conspire to violate section 1111, 1114, 
1116, or 1119 of this title, and one or more of such per-
sons do any overt act to effect the object of the conspiracy, 
each shall be punished by imprisonment for any term of 
years or for life’’. 
Additionally, section 2441 of title 18, United States 
Code, provides, in relevant part, that the term ‘‘war 
crime’’ means any conduct that constitutes a grave breach 
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•HRES 935 IH 
of common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention of 1949, 
to include murder and intentionally causing serious bodily 
injury, amongst other items. 
Secretary Peter B. Hegseth is the principal civil offi-
cer in command of the Armed Forces of the United States, 
subordinate only to the President as Commander-in-Chief, 
and is empowered by law to supervise and issue orders 
to the Armed Forces. 
On September 2, 2025, acting on the orders of Sec-
retary Hegseth, the Armed Forces commenced a campaign 
of lethal strikes and extrajudicial killings against small 
boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean. 
This campaign has supposedly been targeted against 
drug smugglers the administration claims are ‘‘narco-ter-
rorists’’, without providing any evidence to that effect. 
This campaign has been conducted without any authoriza-
tion in law or by Congress for the use of military force. 
This campaign has included no attempt to intercept and 
board the targeted vessels, and has provided no warnings 
or opportunity to comply, as would be done in the case 
of lawful drug interdiction operations. 
In particular, on September 2, 2025, the first such 
boat strike was carried out in the Caribbean Sea, off the 
coast of South America. The boat contained 11 persons, 
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whose identities were and remain unknown to the Amer-
ican public. 
Experts have observed that this large number of peo-
ple in such a small vessel would be more likely indicative 
of migrants than of drug smuggling. Given its location, 
it is likely the boat was transiting from Venezuela to Trin-
idad and Tobago, an island nation located just off of its 
shore. The boat in question was incapable of reaching the 
United States, thousands of miles away, without refueling 
numerous times. All evidence of the boat’s cargo and pur-
poses has now been destroyed. 
Secretary Hegseth gave an order to carry out this 
strike. In so doing, Secretary Hegseth also gave a spoken 
directive, described by someone with direct knowledge of 
the operation as ‘‘[t]he order was to kill everybody’’, and 
confirmed by multiple credible sources to have included 
words substantially to that effect. 
An initial strike on the targeted boat rendered the 
vessel inoperable, effectively destroyed, and resulted in the 
death of the majority on board. At least two survivors were 
subsequently observed clinging to the wreckage. 
In compliance with the order of Secretary Hegseth, 
the Armed Forces carried out a second strike with the ex-
press, willful, and deliberate purpose of killing the ship-
wrecked survivors of the initial strike. 
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•HRES 935 IH 
The Law of War Manual of the Department of De-
fense, which provides authoritative legal guidance for mili-
tary conduct, states ‘‘It is forbidden to declare that no 
quarter will be given’’, and ‘‘combatants placed hors de 
combat must not be made the object of attack’’. 
The murder of shipwrecked survivors is the most fun-
damental example, established by centuries of precedent, 
of an unambiguous crime on the high seas. This principle 
has been aggressively upheld and enforced by the United 
States in past conflicts. It is a practice absolutely prohib-
ited under all circumstances, including against members 
of a combatant enemy force in a genuine war or armed 
conflict. 
According to longstanding international and United 
States law, commanding military officers and superior civil 
officers are subject to the doctrine of command responsi-
bility for crimes committed by their subordinates in the 
chain of command. They are also responsible for the rea-
sonably foreseeable consequences of their orders, and for 
ensuring all orders are carried out in a lawful manner. 
Secretary Hegseth has betrayed his trust as Sec-
retary of Defense, violated the criminal laws and inter-
national obligations of the United States, exposed mem-
bers of the Armed Forces to potential liability and harms, 
imperiled our most fundamental principles of civil-military 
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relations, and tarnished the good standing and reputation 
of the United States in the community of nations, all in 
the course of committing one of the most flagrant and no-
torious of crimes, long recognized by all civilized societies. 
In all of these things, Secretary Hegseth has com-
mitted the high crimes and misdemeanors of murder and 
conspiracy to murder. 
Wherefore, Secretary Hegseth, by such conduct, war-
rants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and dis-
qualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, 
or profit under the United States. 
ARTICLE II: RECKLESS AND UNLAWFUL MISHANDLING OF 
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION 
Section 1924 of title 18, United States Code, provides 
that ‘‘Whoever, being an officer, employee, contractor, or 
consultant of the United States, and, by virtue of his of-
fice, employment, position, or contract, becomes possessed 
of documents or materials containing classified informa-
tion of the United States, knowingly removes such docu-
ments or materials without authority and with the intent 
to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized 
location shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for 
not more than five years, or both’’. 
Section 1924 of title 18, United States Code, further 
provides that ‘‘In this section, the term ‘classified informa-
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tion of the United States’ means information originated, 
owned, or possessed by the United States Government 
concerning the national defense or foreign relations of the 
United States that has been determined pursuant to law 
or Executive order to require protection against unauthor-
ized disclosure in the interests of national security’’. 
In the exercise of his office of Secretary, Peter B. 
Hegseth has access to the most sensitive classified infor-
mation, including plans and advanced knowledge of com-
bat operations being undertaken by the Armed Forces. 
In early 2025, the Armed Forces conducted combat 
operations against Houthi forces in Yemen in retaliation 
for attacks on commercial vessels and United States naval 
vessels transiting nearby. 
From March 11, 2025, through March 15, 2025, nu-
merous high-ranking officials conducted a group chat 
using the commercial messaging program Signal to dis-
cuss the planning and decision-making behind upcoming 
airstrikes in Yemen. 
Signal is not an authorized platform or location for 
the lawful discussion and retention of classified informa-
tion. 
In addition to Secretary Hegseth, the Signal group 
chat included the Vice President, the Secretary of State, 
the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of National 
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Intelligence, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agen-
cy, the National Security Advisor, and the White House 
Chief of Staff, together with a variety of subordinates. 
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic and 
a journalist specializing in covering foreign affairs, was 
also added to the Signal group chat. 
Jeffrey Goldberg observed that highly sensitive classi-
fied information was being discussed, as well as decision- 
making at the highest level about the foreign and national 
security policy of the United States, all of which was sent 
unsolicited to his personal Signal account. 
On March 15, 2025, in messages to the Signal group 
chat, Secretary Hegseth detailed operational information 
regarding imminent airstrikes in Yemen, including target 
information, weapons systems to be employed, and attack 
sequencing. These messages include information on the 
launch times of F–18 aircraft, MQ–9 drones, and toma-
hawk missiles, the time when the F–18 aircraft would 
reach their targets, and the time when the bombs would 
land. These strikes were subsequently carried out as 
planned later that day. 
On March 24, 2025, Jeffrey Goldberg published an 
article in the Atlantic recounting this experience, entitled 
‘‘The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its 
War Plans’’. The Atlantic subsequently published the full 
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transcripts of the Signal group chat, and the authenticity 
of those transcripts has been confirmed by the administra-
tion. 
Such reckless and unlawful handling of classified in-
formation would be, for any of Secretary Hegseth’s mil-
lions of civilian and military subordinates, a career-ending 
offense and likely result in criminal prosecution. 
By his actions, Secretary Hegseth recklessly endan-
gered members of the Armed Forces engaged in combat 
operations, undermined good order and morale, and set 
an example of unprofessionalism and incompetence at the 
highest levels of the national command authority. 
In all of these things, Secretary Hegseth has com-
mitted the high crimes and misdemeanors of reckless and 
unlawful mishandling of classified information. 
Wherefore, Secretary Hegseth, by such conduct, war-
rants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and dis-
qualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, 
or profit under the United States. 
Æ 
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