MSNBC Guest Elie Mystal Goes on Epic Rant, Demands Thousands of Prosecutors Resign Over Stone Case
Justice correspondent for The Nation and frequent MSNBC guest Elie Mystal went on an epic rant during Saturday’s AM Joy, during which he called for thousands of prosecutors across the country to resign in protest of interference by Attorney General William Barr on behalf of President Trump in cases pertaining to the Trump administration.
Host Joy Reid brought up Trump using tweets and other pressure in “manipulating” and “warping” the legal system on behalf of his allies.
“Look, I don’t care what he Tweets at who, or what Barr said,” Mystal replied. “Look, it’s all theater, they’re all liars, I do not care what they say. What I care about is what we’re going to do about it.”
“Everybody here knows that what Barr is doing is immoral, illegal, and unjust. We’ve known that since the moment that he was appointed. We’ve known that since November when he gave a speech to the Federalist society announcing his view of executive power. We know what Barr is,” he said, expanding on the point. “So what are we going to do about it?”
Mystal brought up the four prosecutors who resigned over interference from the top at the Justice Department with regard to the sentencing recommendation in the Roger Stone case.
“I applaud the prosecutors who have resigned over the Stone case. That’s four guys. There are five thousand federal prosecutors across 94 offices in this nation,” said Mystal, offering his argument that the next important move is for thousands of prosecutors to quit their jobs in protest. “If 2,000 of them resign tomorrow, that would be a thing.”
“And I agree with Glen. I agree it’s a tough call. I agree with you, Joy, that we’re asking a lot of people to put their careers on the line to protest this authoritarian despot, but you know what? During authoritarianism, much must be asked,” he continued, as Joy expressed agreement. “And we are in a situation where much must be asked of those with the will and the strength to stand up to this man.”
Having agreed that it’s asking a lot for people to risk their careers, and having said he applauds those who have done so, and that it’s a tough call and a tough thing, he then suggested it’s not a very hard call or very tough thing or very much risk after all, because they can just get another high paying job the next day so they should just go ahead and resign.
“If we’re going to do something we need a thousand people out of D.C., out of New York, out of San Francisco – who can all get jobs tomorrow, high-paying law jobs tomorrow – we need them to stand now, we need them so they enough is enough and we need them to resign,” Mystal said. “We need protests in the street, we need to do all that we have left to do, which is to shout and scream and shake our fists against the dying of the light.”
To segue from the tirade, Reid got a chuckle from the panel when she began with “OR” and then turned to other panelists to discuss how the legislative branch can or should have exercised its power as a check on the executive.
Watch the clip above, from MSNBC.
