In a fiery segment on his MSNBC program "The Last Word," host Lawrence O'Donnell launched a scathing critique of former President Donald Trump and Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth. The focus was on ongoing U.S. military actions off the coast of Venezuela and a disturbing report from The Washington Post regarding Hegseth's alleged orders during a September incident.
Details of the Deadly September Strike
O'Donnell detailed a report concerning a U.S. military strike on September 2nd targeting a suspected drug smuggling vessel near Trinidad. According to the account, the initial attack left the boat smoldering with two survivors clinging to the wreckage. The host stated that a special operations commander then ordered a second strike, an action reportedly taken to comply with instructions from Secretary Pete Hegseth to "kill everybody" aboard.
Two individuals familiar with the event confirmed that the two men in the water were "blown apart" by the follow-up attack, bringing the total fatalities to eleven. The commander overseeing the operation, Admiral Frank M. Bradley, allegedly justified targeting the survivors on a conference call, suggesting they could theoretically call other traffickers for rescue.
Political Fallout and Accusations of a Distraction
The incident has prompted vows of "vigorous oversight" from U.S. senators. Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts who received a classified briefing in October, was quoted by The Post issuing a stark warning: "Mark my words: It may take some time, but Americans will be prosecuted for this, either as a war crime or outright murder."
O'Donnell framed the broader military activity near Venezuela as a political maneuver by Trump. "There is no war in Venezuela. There will never be a war in Venezuela," O'Donnell asserted. He suggested Trump "foolishly" played with the idea of war publicly to distract from the impending release of classified documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, a distraction the host called a miserable failure.
Denials and Instinct to 'Lie About Everything'
The MSNBC host also addressed the official responses to the September event. He noted that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, whom he accused of never conducting a briefing without lying, claimed Admiral Bradley issued the second strike order on his own, without direction from Hegseth.
Turning to Trump, O'Donnell said the former president's first instinct is "always to lie about everything." When asked about the incident on Sunday, Trump claimed ignorance, telling reporters, "I don't know anything about it" and that he "wouldn't have wanted" a second strike. O'Donnell characterized this as a "classic Trump statement."
The segment ties the military actions to the lingering controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in custody in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges. Epstein once called Trump his "closest friend," and his connections to powerful figures have fueled intense speculation about a potential "client list" within the documents slated for release.
