On Friday, the United States seized a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil to Cuba, and MS NOW’s host of The 11th Hour, Stephanie Ruhle, freaked out, claiming it “sounds like pirates.” However, Ruhle and former Sen. Claire McCaskill ignored several facts that would disprove such crazy proclamations.
Ruhle wondered, “But when he [Trump] says, ‘maybe we'll just keep the oil,’ I'm a mere mortal. This sounds like pirates. Are we allowed to do this?”
McCaskill responded by declaring, “Well, he will have to do something he's not been willing to do around Venezuela, and that's go to court. It is possible to seize goods, forfeit goods to the federal government if they are involved in illegal activities. But that would require him to do something that they've not been very good at doing, and that is having actual evidence and proof.”
Both Ruhle and McCaskill ignored three crucial facts. First, while Ruhle mentioned the tanker in question was first sanctioned "for years," she omitted that it was the Biden Administration that did the sanctioning. Second, the administration did have a seizure warrant. Finally, seizing sanctioned tankers is not exactly controversial. Back on March 21, when Germany seized a similarly sanctioned Russian tanker, it was rightfully considered so non-controversial that Ruhle didn’t even talk about it on that night’s show.
Nevertheless, McCaskill shifted the conversation to the strikes on drug boats, “They don't want any of the folks that survive any of their made-for-TV strikes on drug runners. They don't want any of those people to come to America, because if they come to America, then you have a habeas corpus action. And guess what? They're required to prove they were drug dealers. They are required to prove that they are, in fact, involved with a gang of narco-terrorists. They don't want to have to do that because frankly, I don't think they have the evidence.”
Well, if McCaskill thinks that, it must be true. Or, rather, there is evidence, and MS NOW would prefer not to talk about it.
Here is a transcript for the December 10 show:
MS NOW The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle
12/10/2025
11:04 PM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: But when he says, "maybe we'll just keep the oil," I'm a mere mortal. This sounds like pirates. Are we allowed to do this?
CLAIRE MCCASKILL: Well, he will have to do something he's not been willing to do around Venezuela, and that's go to court. It is possible to seize goods, forfeit goods to the federal government if they are involved in illegal activities. But that would require him to do something that they've not been very good at doing, and that is having actual evidence and proof.
They don't want any of the folks that survive any of their made-for-TV strikes on drug runners. They don't want any of those people to come to America, because if they come to America, then you have a habeas corpus action. And guess what? They're required to prove they were drug dealers. They are required to prove that they are, in fact, involved with a gang of narco-terrorists. They don't want to have to do that because frankly, I don't think they have the evidence.
