In part, Senator Cotton said:

“If those boats were loaded with bombs or missiles headed for the United States, I don't think anyone would dispute that we had every right and indeed a duty to intercept them. But those drugs detonate like a bomb all across Arkansas and all across America, killing hundreds of Arkansans and hundreds of thousands of Americans. Our government has a duty to protect our communities from those drugs. That's exactly what we're trying to do.”

Senator Cotton’s full interview may be found here and below.

John Berman:  All right. With us now is Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas. He is chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also sits in Armed Services. You were in the middle of many of these briefings yesterday, Senator, so it's great to get your insight here. The reporting this morning is that these drug runners did not appear to have a radio at the time they were killed, and Admiral Bradley said they were not in a position to call for help at the time. So, what threat did they pose?

Senator Cotton: Well, John, the threat they pose is the threat that the boat that was destroyed yesterday posed and all these other boats pose, they're running drugs in high volumes into the United States that have killed hundreds of Arkansans in recent years and hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Americans. It's not exactly what Admiral Bradley said. He said that they didn't have any intercepts of these two drug traffickers trying to radio or call for assistance. That doesn't mean they weren't doing so. It doesn't mean they weren't trying to access communications equipment on the boat or that they didn't have any of their drug trafficking pals trying to come pick them up because they were just off the waters or just off the coast of Venezuela, and that's a known area for drug cartels.

John Berman:  Did you see any evidence of them trying to use a radio in the video you saw?

Senator Cotton: Well, I saw lots of evidence of them standing on the boat that had been capsized.

John Berman:  That wasn't my question. Did you see any evidence of them trying to –

Senator Cotton: Trying to get it back up, trying to flip it over.

John Berman:  Did you see any evidence of them trying to use a radio?

Senator Cotton: No. I didn't, John. No, John, but they were clearly not incapacitated. They were not distressed. One guy took his T-shirt off like he was sunbathing. They were trying to get the boat back up and to continue their mission of spreading these drugs all across America.

John Berman:  Did they get the boat back up?

Senator Cotton: That's what they were doing. And that's why Admiral Bradley ordered the second strike. Well, no they didn't because we killed them and we were right to kill them. And Admiral Bradley was totally justified in a decision he made, a decision, by the way, that was broadcast on multiple secure screens at the Pentagon and Fort Bragg, and that hundreds of people watched in real time with probably dozens of JAG lawyers. So, what The Washington Post said last week was a complete lie. They owe an apology to Pete Hegseth, and especially they owe an apology to Admiral Mitch Bradley. He's a highly decorated career Navy SEAL.

John Berman:  Well, The Washington Post reported there was a second strike, which at first the administration seemed to deny. Let me ask you this specific question. Would it be legal for police in Arkansas to kill suspected drug dealers on a boat in an overturned lake?

Senator Cotton: Well, John, let me go back to the premise of your question. The Washington Post reported that Pete Hegseth had given an unlawful order of no quarter, or no one left alive, or killed them all. Pete Hegseth denied that last week, and he didn't deny that there was a second strike. Mitch Bradley and Dan Caine both flatly denied that yesterday as well, which some of the Democrats who watched that video and got those briefings confirmed. So, that's what The Washington Post reported. That is a total and complete lie. I just respectfully disagree with my Democratic friends here. I think the problem they have is not with the second strike. It's with the first strike and every other strike on these boats. They think the entire operation is not well founded. I just disagree with them. I think what the analogy I would draw is not Arkansas police officers dealing with American citizens. If those boats were loaded with bombs or missiles headed for the United States, I don't think anyone would dispute that we had every right and indeed a duty to intercept them. But those drugs detonate like a bomb all across Arkansas and all across America, killing hundreds of Arkansans and hundreds of thousands of Americans. Our government has a duty to protect our communities from those drugs. That's exactly what we're trying to do.

John Berman:  Can I just take this in pieces and we first answer my question? Would it be legal for police in Arkansas to kill suspected drug dealers in an overturned boat in a lake in Arkansas? Just answer that and then I will address your question on the other thing.

Senator Cotton: John, the premise of your question is not well-founded. Criminals in Arkansas are not foreign nationals who are affiliates of a foreign terrorist designated organization.

John Berman:  The answer is no. It would not be legal.

Senator Cotton: It's like saying like –

John Berman:  Hang on, Senator. The answer is no. It would not be legal to kill them, but let me ask a follow-up question. If they are terrorists, when did Congress pass the authorized use of force to attack them?

Senator Cotton: John, the reason why your question is not well-founded, it's like saying, would Barack Obama be okay droning an American citizen when he was president like he did to Anwar al-Awlaki over in the Middle East. These are totally different categories.

John Berman:  Senator. That's why I asked –

Senator Cotton: The president has the inherent authority under our Constitution as our commander-in-chief.

John Berman:  That's why I asked when Congress passed the authorized use of military force. There was an authorized use of military force against terrorists. I'm not saying what he did was legal or not, but that's what they base it on. In this case, when was the authorized use of military force to attract -- to attack suspected drug dealers off the coast of Venezuela.

Senator Cotton: John, the president has inherent authority as the commander-in-chief under the Constitution to protect America using our armed forces against a foreign terrorist organization. Congress has passed laws that allows the president to designate foreign terrorist organizations. That's what he's done with these cartels in Venezuela who are deeply intertwined with the illegitimate Maduro regime. The president is -- we finally have a president –

John Berman:  They called non-state actors. I will say the latest explanation -- excuse me, Senator. You know the latest explanation from the administration is they are non-state actors in this case. That is important for them to designate. They're non-state actors here. They are not for purposes of attacking them off the coast of Venezuela, connected to the Maduro regime. They're non-state actors there. And Andrew McCarthy and other conservative writers will say that they don't qualify by the statutory definition of what a terrorist is in U.S. Code.

Senator Cotton: Well, John, I disagree that all of these cartels in Latin America do qualify as foreign terrorists. And, frankly, their activities have killed many more Americans than Al-Qaeda or ISIS has killed. And it's a threat that we should take seriously in our own backyard, just as seriously as we take the threat of Al-Qaeda and ISIS around the world. I think most Americans, especially those Arkansans who have lost loved ones to drugs would agree that we need to take this threat seriously.

John Berman:  Then when will you vote on authorized use of military force, if it's as big of a threat as foreign terrorists?

Senator Cotton: John, I think the president has every legal authority he needs as the commander-in-chief. If my Democratic colleagues disagree, then they're perfectly entitled to offer an amendment when we start debating the defense spending bill to prohibit him from doing so. Congress has done that throughout our history. But until they get the votes for that, the president has the authority that he needs to protect our country from these drug traffickers.

John Berman:  Quickly, there was an inspector general report on so-called Signal Gate yesterday, which found that Secretary Hegseth created a risk to operational security that could have resulted in failed U.S. mission objectives and potential harm to U.S. pilots. That has to do with the attack last March in Yemen. You are chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. You are an incredibly careful and meticulous senator here. Do you send sensitive information over Signal?

Senator Cotton: Well, John, I read the Signal report from the I.G. I read the classified version as well. I think this is a mountain out of molehill. By the time much of this conversation was happening on Signal with senior administration officials, they were already calling their foreign counterparts, foreign ministers, defense ministers, national security advisers around the world. They were doing that on unsecured lines. I don't see the risk here. I understand the administration needs the ability to coordinate action outside of secure information facilities and I simply think it's a mountain out of molehill, John.

John Berman:  Do you use Signal to transmit sensitive information like this?

Senator Cotton: John, I think I'll refrain from telling the bad guys which apps or communication devices I use.

John Berman:  All right. Okay. But, Senator, you do know that the inspector general did find that sensitive information was transmitted that could put troops at risk, correct?

Senator Cotton: No, I read the report, John. I just disagree with some of its findings, and I think it blows it all out of proportion. And, frankly, inspector general reports across the government often do just that.

John Berman:  All right. Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas, we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.