‘Hold On, Hold On!’ MSNBC’s Ari Melber Brawls With Trump Border Czar
MSNBC host Ari Melber clashed with Trump administration border czar Tom Homan on Wednesday after the Department of Justice dropped its charge against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for trespassing on an ICE facility.
“As you may have seen, we had Mayor Baraka on earlier. It was an immigration-related offense, as you know, where the Trump DOJ accused him of trespassing, physically arrested him, indicted him, took him to court, and here we are, a week-and-a-half later, the whole case falls apart,” said Melber. “He says no one has apologized to him from the administration. What do you say to him tonight?”
Homan responded, “I think it was a ridiculous interview. I listened to it. Look, he’s running for higher political office, he got exactly what he wanted. He went there to get on camera and cause a ruckus, and that’s what he got, and as far as the case falling apart, I think it’d only be fair to invite Alina Habba to your show to discuss why the case wasn’t further prosecuted.”
“She’s fully invited and you’re on here now from the Trump administration,” Melber shot back.
Homan protested, “You’re assuming the case fell apart. You’re assuming the case fell apart.”
“Sir, I’m not assuming. Hold on, hold on! I’m not assuming any– sir,” insisted Melber, as the two began to shout over each other.
Melber continued, “I’m not assuming anything. I’m quoting from the Justice Department that you work with as law enforcement. They went to court today, they said in court, under penalty of perjury, they made a mistake and dropped the case. Not an assumption, I’m referring to what your own administration is doing.”
“They used the terms, ‘the case fell apart’?” asked Homan, to which Melber replied, “They used the terms, if you want to get into it, that they made a mistake. Yeah, the case is over. They dropped it. I don’t think there’s a dispute they dropped the case.”
Homan declared, “Well look, here’s what I know about the case, the mayor was on the property, he was asked numerous times to leave and refused to leave, and as far as the facility itself, I’ll put that facility up against any New Jersey facility, any county jail, any state prison. This facility has the highest detention standards in the industry. There’s nothing to force your way in on.”
He concluded, “We do oversight visits all the time. Do it the right way. Contact ICE, go through the screening, enter the facility and see anything you want to see. What they did was force their way into the facility, refuse to leave when asked to leave, and the congresswoman, she put her hands on an ICE officer.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
