{"id":2662413,"date":"2026-09-16T12:18:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massie-says-he-intentionally-blindsided-house-leaders-when-filing-hegseth-impeachment-articles\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T12:20:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:20:55","slug":"massie-says-he-intentionally-blindsided-house-leaders-when-filing-hegseth-impeachment-articles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massie-says-he-intentionally-blindsided-house-leaders-when-filing-hegseth-impeachment-articles\/","title":{"rendered":"Massie Says He Intentionally Blindsided House Leaders When Filing Hegseth Impeachment Articles"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmassie-says-he-intentionally-blindsided-house-leaders-when-filing-hegseth-impeachment-articles%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2662413&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A political figure, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, publicly surprised his colleagues by introducing articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, without prior notice. Massie explained that he wanted to act independently, referencing previous disruptive actions like the Epstein discharge petition. The impeachment document accuses Hegseth of serious misconduct, including violations of the War powers Resolution, extrajudicial killings, suppression of free speech, and illegal military operations, notably in Yemen and Venezuela. Massie criticized Hegseth for abusing his authority and posed him as a threat to the Constitution. The move came amid increasing scrutiny of Hegseth&#8217;s role in various military and foreign policy issues, with Democrats planning investigations if they gain control of the House in upcoming elections. Massie, who recently lost his primary bid and will leave Congress, contrasted his actions with widespread congressional disagreement, with some officials defending Hegseth\u2019s conduct.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, said he purposefully surprised his Republican colleagues on Tuesday when he introduced articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t give anybody a heads-up, because when they found out I was doing the Epstein discharge petition, they canceled two weeks of Congress,\u201d he said while being interviewed by a CNN reporter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I think if they found out I was going to do this, they might have canceled even more days.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Massie on Hegseth Impeachment Resolution: I didn\u2019t give anybody a heads up because when they found out I was doing the Epstein discharge petition, they canceled two weeks of congress. And I think if they found out I was going to do this, they might have canceled even more days <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OEOFGQp6Or\">pic.twitter.com\/OEOFGQp6Or<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Acyn (@Acyn) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Acyn\/status\/2099992355042709620?\">September 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Massie took to the House floor and introduced an impeachment resolution against Hegseth for high crimes and misdemeanors. Massie also <a href=\"https:\/\/massie.house.gov\/uploadedfiles\/articles_of_impeachment_sec._hegseth.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted<\/a> a 34-page document online levying serious accusations against him.<\/p>\n<p>These included: Waging war in contravention of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 Section 2(c); ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties; extrajudicial killings; suppressing free speech; kidnapping of a sovereign foreign leader; and unlawful war in Yemen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn his conduct while Secretary of Defense, Peter Brian Hegseth, in violation of his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed \u2014 especially with regard to the commission of war \u2014 has abused the powers of the Department of Defense,\u201d the document read.<\/p>\n<p>It accused Hegseth of \u201cknowingly\u201d executing unlawful orders, defying the War Powers Act, and prosecuting a war in Iran that Congress did not approve.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">,<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepThomasMassie?\">@RepThomasMassie<\/a> (R-KY) introduces Articles of Impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cCMah1jQoD\">pic.twitter.com\/cCMah1jQoD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 CSPAN (@cspan) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cspan\/status\/2099904862406189080?\">September 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The resolution stated that Hegseth \u201cacted in a manner contrary to his trust as Secretary of Defense and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Massie declared that Hegseth would be a \u201cthreat to the Constitution\u201d if he is \u201callowed to remain in office\u201d and has \u201cacted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawmaker also claimed that Hegseth participated in extrajudicial killings \u201cof at least <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >221 persons aboard seagoing vessels alleged<\/a> to be smuggling narcotics in the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, principally in international waters,\u201d related to President Donald Trump\u2019s drone strikes against suspected drug traffickers.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Massie\u2019s articles of impeachment cited the effort to apprehend former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, calling it an \u201cunprecedented military operation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Massie framed it as \u201can act of war against a sovereign country executed under the guise of narcotics law enforcement, though in actuality intended to assert U.S. control over Venezuela\u2019s oil reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for free speech suppression, Massie said that Hegseth\u2019s investigation into comments made by Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thomas-massie-files-articles-of-impeachment-against-pete-hegseth-for-high-crimes-and-misdemeanors\/\" title=\"... Files Articles of ... Against Pete Hegseth for &#039;High Crimes and Misdemeanors&#039;\">soldiers disobeying unlawful orders amounted<\/a> to retaliation and intimidation.<\/p>\n<p>Massie\u2019s actions come just days after Congressional Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/democrats-laying-groundwork-target-pete-hegseth-midterms-go-way\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cited<\/a> Hegseth as one of their top targets for impeachment if they regain a majority in the House of Representatives this November.<\/p>\n<p>They plan on launching investigations using their subpoena powers to investigate his involvement in the Iran war, Pentagon contracts, strikes against Latin American drug boats, and his firing of top military officials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHegseth and crew better buckle up and lawyer up because we are coming at them full on,\u201d Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan of New York said. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly aggressive oversight because this is by far the most corrupt and least transparent Pentagon, I think, we\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth has been a consistent advocate of Trump dating back to his days on Fox News, and has remained one of his top deputies throughout the second term.<\/p>\n<p>Massie, on the other hand, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/usa\/the-western-journal\/20260520\/281548002536787?srsltid=AU7gw4Xn8QmO7uyFbSIuOuLD2-LbyiLKelN-LsD0dzgmoxf0qTaYx3bS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lost<\/a> his congressional primary back in May to his Trump-backed challenger, Ed Gallrein, and will no longer be a member of Congress come January.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Todd Blanche <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/politics\/blanche-faces-grilling-on-hegseth-impeachment-push-and-trumps-claim-dems-plotted-to-kill-him\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">commented<\/a> on the allegations made by Massie on Tuesday, saying, \u201cSecretary Hegseth is doing a phenomenal job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Secretary of War doesn\u2019t just go off and do things, so he follows the law. And so, the DOJ plays a role in that, and we play an active role in making sure the law is complied with,\u201d Blanche concluded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou called it a \u2018war.\u2019 I disagree with that characterization, as does most of Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, intentionally surprised colleagues by introducing impeachment articles against Secretary Hegseth without warning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2662414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-09-16T113119.665.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4402,32304,3636,4850,5894],"class_list":["post-2662413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-congress","tag-house-of-representatives","tag-impeachment","tag-massie","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-09-16T113119.665.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2662413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2662413"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2662413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2662418,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2662413\/revisions\/2662418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2662414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2662413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2662413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2662413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}