Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth could be in trouble legally over allegedly greenlighting a double-tap on a Venezuelan boat, Morning Joe hosts have claimed.
It comes after a Washington Post article cited sources with direct knowledge of the operation who said Hegseth’s “order was to kill everybody.”
Former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough claimed the so-called ‘Secretary of War’ could be in a “dangerous” position with the law, if allegations are true.
Washington has orchestrated a controversial string of around 20 military attacks on boats allegedly carrying drugs, killing more than 80 people.
The Post report claimed that in one mission on September 2, a drone observing the target spotted two survivors clinging to the wreck after a strike.
It then claims that, in order to follow Hegseth’s command, a second strike was fired off, killing them.
Later, Hegseth took to X where he posted an unsettling rework of beloved children’s book character Franklin the Turtle.
Despite the cartoon reptile’s peaceful demeanor, Hegseth’s version had him firing a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher from a helicopter onto boats below with the title “Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists.”
In the eyebrow-raising post’s aftermath, Scarborough said, “Pete Hegseth, Republicans bragging about the kill strikes, killing everybody in the waters. Right now, it’s a dangerous time legally for Pete Hegseth.”
On Sunday, President Donald Trump said Hegseth had told him that he hadn’t given the order to kill everyone, and said he believed him.
“It gets more dangerous if he is spending this time furiously going around to cover it up, trying to make phone calls,” Scarborough continued. “I’m not saying he is.
“I’m saying this is when people really get in trouble in his position, because he has been exposed. He’s got the House Armed Services and Senate Armed Services, Republican chairmen, getting the evidence; there are five people who are already talking about this. This genie is out of the bottle.”
Scarborough was referencing inquiries launched by committees in both the House and the Senate following reports of the second strike on survivors in September.
“Nobody has said that President Trump knows what was going on, but certainly have said Pete Hegseth delivered the kill orders.
“So now if Pete Hegseth is going around trying to cover this up, this is when the situation goes from being very dangerous for him to being even more dangerous.”
Scarborough later added, “It is Pete Hegseth who has put himself in an extraordinarily dangerous legal situation.”
Scarborough’s co-host and wife Mika Brzezinski jumped in to describe Hegseth as “trigger-happy.”
The severity of the situation was then underlined by Scarborough’s co-host, Jonathan Lemire, who said, “This type of incident, where survivors were shot as they were clinging to a boat, that happened in World War II. Japanese soldiers shot Americans who were clinging to boats.
“Those Japanese soldiers were later convicted and executed.
“That’s how serious this is.”
His comments likely refer to ‘hell ship’ incidents during WWII that saw U.S. prisoners of war shot at by captors after allied forces attacked their transport. Some Japanese personnel were later convicted for their roles.
So to be clear, you aren’t denying the reporting and are confirming you killed 2 defenseless people (who we don’t know if they were guilty or not) who didn’t pose an immediate threat instead of prosecuting them?
We’ll see what a jury thinks during your trial in 2029!— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) November 29, 2025
When the Daily Beast asked the Department of Defense for further comment on the claims made on Morning Joe, it was redirected to a statement Hegseth posted on X on Friday.
“As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland,” he said.
Without providing evidence, Hegseth later added, “The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
“Our current operations in the Caribbean are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict—and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command.”
Responding to the statement, Democrat influencer Harry Sisson commented, “So to be clear, you aren’t denying the reporting and are confirming you killed two defenseless people (who we don’t know if they were guilty or not) who didn’t pose an immediate threat instead of prosecuting them?”
It comes after Hegseth raised the possibility of recalling Senator Mark Kelly to active duty for court-martial, after he and five other senators released a video reminding troops they didn’t have to follow “illegal orders.”
The post ‘Morning Joe’ Thinks Pentagon Pete Could Be in Hot Water Legally Over Strike appeared first on The Daily Beast.
