House Bill Would Ban All Presidents From Livestreaming Executions

Rep. Eugene Vindman talked to Military.com about new legislation, the American Integrity Act, introduced after plans to broadcast Nidal Hasan's death.

Lawmakers have introduced new legislation that would bar current and future presidents from televising or livestreaming executions.

House Rep. Eugene Vindman's (D-Va.) American Integrity Act bill federally prohibits the livestreaming of executions under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). It would also ensure that such broadcasts cannot be authorized by future administrations.

The bill was formally announced Thursday after President Donald Trump announced he was canceling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's plans to broadcast the execution of Fort Hood mass murderer Nidal Hasan, who will be executed Dec. 3.

"This completely un-American, inappropriate decision by the secretary of defense to televise the execution of Nidal Hasan, in effect, granting him his desire for martyrdom publicly, is what I was appalled by and decided to act on," Vindman told Military.com on Friday.

The congressman and former U.S. Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer said the original plans by Hegseth to even want to broadcast a public execution to the masses was a further indication of the lackluster job he has done in his position.

"Obviously, the president has decided not to televise it, so he overruled his secretary of defense—which, frankly, in many ways, confirms the fact that he is not fit for his position," Vindman said. "I've been calling for [Hegseth's] resignation since 'Signalgate' because he's the least competent, least capable, least experienced secretary this country ever had, and frankly, also, porous judgment.

"Televising executions is not appropriate. I can't imagine a set of circumstances that we would want to publicly televise it to the American people. I felt like this legislation was still worth submitting, given that this was pushed forward as a good idea by this administration."

Vindman's bill co-sponsors are Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and George Whitesides of California.

Congress is currently not in session, leaving the timetable for a vote on this bill up in the air.

Trump Overrules Hegseth on Controversial Decision

On Thursday morning, President Trump used his Truth Social pulpit to explain his decision not to livestream the execution of Hasan, dubbed by the president as "a very bad and evil man."

Hasan, paralyzed and in a wheelchair, killed 13 people and wounded 32 others in the 2009 attack on the Texas military base.

"I think streaming the execution for all to see might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan but, many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device," Trump wrote Thursday.

Trump and Hegseth were apparently in agreement to scrap the livestreamed execution, according to the Pentagon.

"President Trump and Secretary Hegseth spoke about the decision to not livestream Hasan's execution ahead of the Truth Social announcement," Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Military.com on Thursday. "The secretary supports the president's decision, and they are completely aligned."

Vindman Handled Hasan Case at Fort Hood

Vindman served 25 years in the Army, including roughly half his career as an infantry officer and paratrooper, and another half as a JAG officer.

He was actually senior trial counsel at Fort Hood roughly 12 years ago, handling the post-trial matters in the Hasan case.

"I understand how important it is to maintain good order and discipline, and have disciplined troops," he said. "[I've] prosecuted some pretty serious cases, investigated murder trials, and prosecuted sexual assaults and fraud cases and such in the busiest court-martial jurisdiction in the Army, which was Fort Hood at the time."

Vindman acknowledged the "heinous crimes" Hasan committed, adding that he has "no problem with him being punished to the full extent of the law."

His issue, identical to seemingly countless others, is airing it to the masses and replicating scenes and actions displayed by U.S. adversaries. Vindman said that when the last U.S. public execution occurred in 1936, it was essentially pre-television and mass media.

"I thought to myself, the countries that actually do this are North Korea and Iran," Vindman said. "Are we seriously going to be emulating them? Are we also terrorists, for that matter, [like] the Taliban and Al-Qaeda? I mean, is that the company that we're now looking at keeping?"

"I felt like it was outrageous. ... Whether you have a military background, military experience or not, I think this is just a particularly dumb idea," he added.

Asked about the timeline for a vote on his bill, Vindman noted how Congress is not returning until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

"We have literally a few weeks of work left before we're done with this Congress," he said. "And if this Congress is not willing to act, then I have high hopes that the next Congress will act and also be a check on the power of both the secretary of defense and the president."