Maine’s congressional delegation could play a role in investigating a deadly, Trump administration-ordered attack on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean.

U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent, is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, while Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, is a member of the House version of the committee. Both Republican and Democratic leaders of the committees have said they will be looking into the Sept. 2 attack.

“There are a lot of factual questions that we need to determine,” King said in an interview Wednesday. “The law is very clear. If what happened is as it has been described — that there was a second strike specifically to kill people that were in the water — that’s a war crime.”

King was referencing a Washington Post report that raised questions about whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth specifically ordered the execution of shipwrecked sailors who had survived an initial attack on their boat on Sept. 2 in violation of the laws of war. The administration has said that a total of 11 people were killed that day.

Hegseth said during a Cabinet Room meeting at the White House on Tuesday that he did not see any survivors of the initial attack in a video at the time, and defended how the operation was carried out.

King also serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee along with Republican Sen. Susan Collins. In addition to the Armed Services inquiries, King said the chairs of the House and Senate Intelligence committees are scheduled to meet Thursday with Adm. Frank M. Bradley. Trump administration officials say Bradley oversaw the strike.

The attack off the Venezuelan coast came as part of a Trump administration campaign against suspected drug traffickers. Since early September, close to two dozen strikes have killed more than 80 people.

It’s not unusual for either the Senate Armed Services or Intelligence committees to hold oversight hearings about executive branch activities, King said, though he noted that “this is an unusual and very difficult case.”

King said he plans to urge committee leaders to hold public hearings with testimony taken under oath.

“The basic questions are, ‘what order was given and when?'” he said. “‘What was the nature of that order? What actually happened, and were there survivors? Were they killed?’ All these facts need to be established, and I think, on behalf of the American people, it should be public.”

Depending on the findings of an investigation, King said it could lead to legal proceedings within the Department of Defense under laws governing military conduct. He said he is a supporter of U.S. efforts to intercept drug smuggling coming into the country, but “the idea of just killing (smugglers) is questionable under all the laws that govern the use of our military.”

While Republican and Democratic leaders from the House and Senate Armed Services committees have called for investigations, nothing has been scheduled yet, a spokesperson for Golden said.

“Recent reports alleging that the Pentagon killed survivors of military strikes against boats in the Caribbean underline the need for a full airing of the facts — especially given the lack of transparency from the Trump administration,” Golden said in a written statement. “We need to know who made what orders, when and why. The House Armed Services Committee’s job is to conduct oversight of the Pentagon, and I support the bipartisan call for a full investigation. Accountability starts with transparency.”

Collins and Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, have also voiced support for investigations.

“Secretary Hegseth’s alleged actions warrant vigorous oversight,” Collins said in a written statement. “(Republican) Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker and (Democratic) Vice Chair Jack Reed have directed inquiries to the Department of Defense, and I support their efforts to determine the facts related to these strikes.”

In a social media post Tuesday, Pingree said the administration’s legal justification for the strikes “looks very flimsy to most of us” and called for the release of additional information.

“Hopefully this week the committees will have investigations, we’ll hear firsthand about exactly what went on that day and perhaps this is a way to unravel what’s going on,” Pingree said.