The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe: “The decisions that are made on deportations, where flights go and when they go, are my decision”

This is the Dec. 1 edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.

In the midst of chaos lies opportunity. 

But the mayhem now radiating from Washington appears to only be benefiting kleptocrats at home and enemies abroad. 

Drug lords get pardons, while Pentagon chiefs face investigations for alleged war crimes from phony “drug wars.” 

Ukrainian allies are strong-armed at the negotiating table, while invading despots receive red carpet treatment. 

Military heroes and CIA vets get branded as traitors — even threatened with lynchings — for urging troops to reject illegal orders, while senior officials find themselves entangled in bipartisan investigations over the legality of their own directives. 

Meanwhile, China is exploiting the very opportunities that Sun Tzu wrote about 2,500 years ago in “The Art of War.” 

Rest assured that every strongman who despises America for its constitutional freedoms is gleefully watching as pandemonium spreads across the nation’s capital. 

How long will the Supreme Court play Pontius Pilate to its Republican president? How much longer will its justices wash their hands of the constitutional violations committed by this White House?

Will the GOP-majority Senate finally investigate the shattering of constitutional norms committed daily by sunshine patriots who hide behind counterfeit crosses and bloodied flags?

Don’t hold your breath.

But you can count on Americans kicking Republicans out of power next year if they keep turning a blind eye to the deepening chaos that is gripping Washington. 

“The decisions that are made on deportations, where flights go and when they go, are my decision.”

Secretary Kristi Noem, acknowledging she allowed deportation flights to El Salvador to continue despite a federal judge’s order

HEGSETH HIT BY BIPARTISAN BOAT INVESTIGATIONS

Is Pete Hegseth guilty of war crimes?

A growing bipartisan chorus on Capitol Hill is starting to ask that ominous question after a bombshell Washington Post report indicating that U.S. forces killed helpless survivors of a military strike that allegedly targeted a suspected drug boat this past September.

Long considered dangerously unqualified for his post, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is now being targeted by the Republican chairmen of both the House and Senate Armed Services committees for an investigation into whether he gave a verbal directive to kill everyone on board the alleged drug boat.

Two people with direct knowledge of the operation told the Post that when the initial attack failed to kill two people on the boat, the special operations commander ordered a second strike, killing both defenseless survivors. 

People who are wounded or shipwrecked — and therefore unable to defend themselves — are considered hors de combat, a French term meaning “out of the fight.” Attacking them is illegal under both U.S. and international law. 

Like many military experts, Fox News legal analyst Andrew McCarthy says that if the Post’s reporting is accurate, the allegations could constitute, “at best, war crimes.” McCarthy wrote that murder charges could be considered if the actions were not undertaken during a wartime situation. 

President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One last night that he would not have ordered a second strike. He also says Hegseth denied giving the “double-tap” order. 

Regardless of the 11th-hour denials, Republican members of Congress are ready to ramp up oversight investigations of the deadly operation. 

Leaders of both parties, as well as conservative legal scholars, have said that the strikes as reported in the Post would be illegal and constitute war crimes. 

The question now is: What did Pete Hegseth order and when did he order it?

A CONVERSATION WITH LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING

Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling served as the commanding general of the U.S. Army and the Seventh Army. He also commanded the 1st Armored Division in Iraq during the successful troop surge in 2007 and 2008. I asked the general where the war crimes investigation of the secretary of defense goes next and how it will affect the men and women in uniform whom he led during his storied career. . 

JS: General, where does the Hegseth investigation go from here?

MH: The first thing that has to happen, Joe, is that Secretary Hegseth and others — including the trigger pullers from the special operations command; the former SOUTHCOM commander, Adm. [Alvin] Holsey; and his judge advocate general (JAG) officer — need to testify because they likely have information regarding what happened on that day and what has been going on in the SouthCom area of operation. Congress needs to know what is going on down there, as do the appropriate oversight committees in the Senate and the House.

JS : If it is determined a war crime was committed, who could be held liable?

MH: In anything like this, the entire chain of command has to be investigated. 

The person who gave the order, the people who set the policies for giving the order, those who are in the legal chain of command who said this was a legal order and those in the chain of command who followed through on what they knew to be illegal orders. If they knew the orders were illegal and continued to execute them, they have to be held liable.

JS: What concerns do you have for U.S. troops who signed up to serve their country?

MH: It is so disturbing. How can military personnel be put in such a bad situation where they have to choose between doing what they know to be their duty, what commands they are being given by senior military and civilian commanders, and what they know to be their moral obligation? These are the questions that must be answered, and every one who is found guilty of committing these illegal acts must be held liable.  

JS: As a man who has committed his adult life to protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States while building discipline and character among his troops, how difficult is it to watch this crisis unfold at the Pentagon?

MH: It is despicable to watch. But I am more concerned about what it will do to the state of the institution. We rebuilt the military after Vietnam into a greatly respected force. This will cause more divisions, not only in the military but also in civilian society. It will cause those Americans who don’t know much about the military to question the institution’s morality and mission. I have seen my Army and military build such a great reputation for their actions, culture and moral obligations over the past generation. For it to be denigrated the way it is right now is despicable. 

This interview has been condensed and edited for brevity and clarity.

FROM VANITY TO VITALITY

’Tis the season to be jolly — and start that post-Thanksgiving feast workout regimen. Or perhaps begin taking GLP-1 weight loss drugs to get down to a fighting weight for the next holiday season!

For years, these drugs were dismissed as “vanity medicine” — pharmaceuticals for shrinking silhouettes, not saving lives. Now, in a striking reversal, studies suggest that those same medications may be transforming the treatment of a spate of serious chronic diseases.  

GLP-1 therapies have recently secured FDA approvals to treat conditions as varied as chronic kidney disease, heart failure, liver disease, peripheral artery disease and sleep apnea — a regulatory pivot that signals just how profoundly these drugs affect the metabolic and cardiovascular health of those using them. 

It’s no wonder that Eli Lilly — now the highest-valued drugmaker in the country — has poured billions into expanding GLP-1 production, betting that their potential impact across multiple organ systems will define the company’s success over the next decade.

The most dramatic gains have appeared in cardiology. 

In large clinical trials, people with obesity taking GLP-1 drugs saw substantial reductions in heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths, even without diabetes in the mix. 

Kidneys and livers, long on the frontline fight against metabolic diseases, appear to benefit too.

GLP-1 therapies slow the progression of chronic kidney disease and reduce serious renal events. Early studies suggest these drugs reduce liver fat and inflammation, an encouraging sign for the millions of Americans at risk of fatty liver-related cirrhosis.

And then there is the possible impact of these drugs on their users’ brains — perhaps the most unexpected frontier of all. A massive Veterans Affairs-linked analysis suggests that patients on GLP-1 drugs had lower rates of seizures, substance use disorders and several psychiatric diagnoses, pointing to the drug’s possible effects on neural circuits governing impulse and reward. 

The promise of GLP-1 medications is real — and remarkable. As Leana S. Wen noted in The Washington Post, they are not cure-alls. But used wisely under medical supervision, they may prove to be far more important than simply helping take a few pounds off our waistline after Thanksgiving. 

EXTRA HOT TEA

AMERICA (STILL) LOVES A PARADE

Talk about a media miracle on 34th Street!

In this era of splintering audience loyalties, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade drew a remarkable number of viewers to its holiday festivities. 

Early Nielsen numbers report that a record 34 million people watched the New York City parade this year. 

The parade’s success was all the more inspiring given that it was broadcast and streamed on the network that is still based out of a building that “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski fears is an infested rat trap!

Congratulations to Macy’s, and our thoughts and prayers remain with those enduring holiday season infestations.

CATCH UP ON MORNING JOE

SPILL IT!

This week, actress Minnie Driver joins us to discuss Season 5 of “Emily in Paris” and her upcoming movie, “Run Away.” Want to ask a question? Send it over, and we will pick our favorite to ask on the show!