• US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth defends his record at his first news conference in six months after a Republican congressman launched an attempt to impeach him

• Speaking at the Pentagon, the defence secretary calls the impeachment effort a “farce” and defends the US’s “lawful military operations”

• Hegseth adds: “This is not patriotism. This is sabotage”

• He has faced criticism of his handling of the Iran war from both Democrats and Republicans, but President Donald Trump says his secretary of war gets an “‘A’ PLUS” for his performance

• Articles of impeachment were introduced into the House of Representatives on Monday by Republican Thomas Massie, who says the defence secretary violated the constitution by not seeking approval for the war

• The effort will likely fail, as Republicans remain in power in Congress until January, meaning they have the majority power over any vote

Gabriela Pomeroy

Hegseth pushes back: The US defence secretary has said the impeachment attempts against him are a “farce and a stunt.”

Speaking at his first press conference for six months, Hegseth was defiant, saying the efforts to impeach him were “sabotage” and would hand a “propaganda victory” to America’s adversaries.

How we got here: Republican Congressman Thomas Massie launched an attempt to impeach the defence secretary, because the Iran war is seen as one of the key reasons for the disastrous Republican performance in the midterms.

The impeachment process is in motion: Massie formally introduced his articles of impeachment on Monday afternoon, arguing that Hegseth broke the law by launching the US-Iran War without approval from Congress.

Hegseth fights for his job: The secretary of defence dismissed Massie as “one disgruntled and defeated congressman,” insisting the US military operations in Venezuela and Iran were the right thing to do.

“Every one was a lawful operation, ordered by the commander in chief, then ordered by myself, notified to Congress and executed by American warriors,” he said.

Trump still backs his secretary of war – for now: Minutes after Hegseth finished speaking, President Trump backed him up with a post on his social media platform Truth Social, saying Hegseth gets an ““A” PLUS, PLUS, PLUS” and he described Thomas Massie as “a TOTAL LOSER!”

But the impeachment process is a long haul: Read more about the process of impeachment.

Massie: Hegseth is breaking the lawpublished at 08:38

Image source,EPA

Republican Thomas Massie, who introduced the articles of impeachment against Hegseth, has shared a post on social media.

He says that “the law requires our military to withdraw from hostilities within 60 days if Congress does not authorize the activity”, but the war on Iran has been under way for 256 days.

“Hegseth is breaking the law. Not even debatable,” Massie writes.

For context, the 1973 War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify lawmakers within 48 hours of military action. Congress must pass an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) within 60 days of hostilities breaking out.

Read more on oiginal:https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cq1j3jngn81dt