U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media following a call with military service members, on Thanksgiving, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., Nov. 27, 2025.
Anna Rose Layden | Reuters
The White House on Friday evening named the Boston Globe, CBS News and The Independent as “media offender of the week,” blasting their coverage of a video released by Democratic lawmakers telling the U.S. military that they can disobey illegal orders.
The Boston Globe, CBS News and The Independent did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
Last week, six Democrats, all with military or national security experience, released a video reminding service members that they have the right to refuse illegal orders. President Donald Trump accused them of “seditious behavior” and said that in “the old days” that was “punishable by death.”
The FBI is now seeking to interview Sen. Mark Kelly and the other Democrats featured in the video.
The White House has denied that Trump has ever issued illegal orders. However, some experts have said the Pentagon’s deadly campaign against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean is unlawful.
On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth verbally ordered to kill all crew members on a suspected drug boat. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., a Marine Corps veteran, told the newspaper that Americans will eventually be prosecuted for this, “either as a war crime or outright murder.”


