The Big Ben Show: Somali Fraud, Narco Wars, and SCOTUS Speech Showdown

Plus: J6 pipebomb suspect arrested

Dec 04, 2025

The latest Big Ben Show is here — watch and listen to the whole thing below!

More on the subject of my monologue here with a WSJ Exclusive:

Two survivors of a Sept. 2 U.S. strike on a boat in the Caribbean were killed in follow-up attacks after they were seen still aboard the damaged vessel alongside packages of illegal narcotics, a senior commander is expected to tell lawmakers Thursday.
Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley plans to say he and his legal adviser concluded the two survivors were attempting to continue their drug run, making them and the already-damaged vessel legitimate targets for another attack, two defense officials said.
The details of the strike have emerged as a matter of concern for members of Congress who are seeking more information about the role played by Bradley and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and whether aspects of the operation violated laws of war or Pentagon procedures.
The version of events Bradley is expected to deliver would rebut claims by legal experts that the killing of the two survivors could have constituted a war crime.
Lawmakers are likely to press Bradley, who commanded Joint Special Operations Command at the time, in the closed-door briefing on the extent of the damage to the boat, whether the men were injured, how Bradley reached his conclusions that the survivors were still legitimate targets, and whether he considered rescuing them.
The attack was the first use of military force against drug boats by the administration and the only one in which survivors are known to have been targeted and killed in follow-up strikes. In mid-October, the Coast Guard rescued two survivors of an attack on a submersible because they were deemed unable to fight, according to the defense officials.
The administration has launched 21 strikes in all, killing more than 80 people.
Many law-of-war analysts have criticized President Trump’s assertion that drug traffickers are terrorists purposefully killing Americans, rather than criminals providing illegal narcotics to willing buyers. They have homed in on whether the two survivors in the Sept. 2 attack should have been deemed out of action—and therefore no longer legitimate military targets.
The accounts of the attacks provided so far by the administration have left even some Republicans questioning the legality.
“There is a difference between being accused of being a bad guy and being a bad guy. It is called the presumption of innocence,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), often a critic of the administration’s national security policy. “It is called due process. It is called, basically, justice that our country was founded upon.”
Trump signaled support Wednesday for releasing the surveillance video of the operation taken by overhead aircraft.
Bradley was watching the live feed as the operation unfolded, the Pentagon officials said, as was Hegseth for part of the attack. The first part of the strike set the boat on fire and killed nine people, the officials said. It took an hour before the survivors were visible on the live feed, a third defense official said.
Bradley, in making his decision, considered that other “enemy” vessels were nearby and that the survivors were believed to be communicating via radio with others in the drug-smuggling network, the officials said.
If the boat was incapacitated and the men were unable to threaten U.S. military personnel, then the survivors would have met the definition of unable to fight, legal experts say. But if Bradley’s account is accurate, “it would appear to provide a legitimate explanation for the second strike,” said Geoffrey Corn, a former military lawyer who now directs the Center for Military Law and Policy at Texas Tech.

Suspect Arrested in Pipe Bomb Case

Politico:

A man has been arrested in the Jan. 6, 2021, pipe bomb case, and is expected to appear in court later Thursday, according to a person familiar with the development who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive case.
No arrests had previously been reported in connection with pipe bombs discovered outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican National Committees on the same day as the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. The bombs, which the FBI has described as “viable” but did not detonate, were believed to be planted the day before.
The arrest is the first known break in a five-year manhunt that has fueled intense speculation and conspiracy theories. The bombs were discovered just as rioters crossed the secure perimeter of the Capitol, diverting law enforcement resources and helping facilitate the mob’s breach of the complex itself.
The specific charges the man is facing are not yet clear.
Then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was inside the DNC headquarters when the pipe bomb was discovered outside the building, and she was evacuated just minutes after Capitol Police began investigating the bomb on Jan. 6. The FBI later described both bombs as capable of “resulting in serious injury or death.”
FBI Director Kash Patel recently stated the bureau’s investigation into the pipe bombs was ongoing. A Republican House panel reinvestigating the Capitol riot has also focused on the long-unresolved case.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

✍️ Feature

Graphs about Religion

The Slow Grind of Change: What the 2024 GSS Tells Us About American Religion

This post has been unlocked through a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment for the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA). The graphs you see here use data that is publicly available for download and analysis through link(s) provided in the text below…

3 hours ago · 12 likes · 5 comments · Ryan Burge

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