Talking to Joy Reid this morning, the Nation's Justice Correspondent explained why another impeachment won't happen, everyone saw the Stone thing coming, and if we still want laws, we need to oust Trump in November.
July 11, 2020

MSNBC has made some terrific decisions, lately. First, we learn that Joy Reid will take over the 7 pm evening anchor spot that Chris Matthews vacated — HUZZAH! Second, I have seen the inimitable Elie Mystal appear as a guest on the network twice in the last 2 weeks! This morning, those things converged as Mystal appeared on AM Joy to talk about the gross corruption reflected in Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's sentence. He also had some perspective for Democrats on how they could use their power, once they get it back.

At the beginning of the segment, Reid's panel discussed the Stone business, and the potential for a second impeachment, should Trump win a second term.

MYSTAL: I mean, I know Democrats too well to ever believe that's going back. Right, as Joyce said, she's absolutely right. This pardon was telegraphed a long time going. There's a reason — Roger Stone knew — it's not just Lindsey Graham. Roger Stone knew he was going to get a pardon. That's why Roger Stone's been walking around with the same "My Daddy owns your Daddy" smirk since 1976. This was a pardon of self-preservation, and everybody knew it was coming. The only relevant question is, what are Democrats going to do about it if they ever take power again? Right. And it's not about Stone or Trump. It's not about trying to grab Stone out of Mar-a-Lago before he gets the Trump tattoo on his shoulder.

On his last day in office, Barack Obama pardoned 330 nonviolent drug offenders. And that was a great work. That was great work by the Obama/Biden administration. But there are 78,000 federal nonviolent drug offenders. You want to show Republicans what a fully operational pardon power looks like? Pardon them ALL on day one of the Biden administration. What are Republicans going to say? We don't like the process? No, no, no. Republicans forfeited forever their right to complain about the pardon process.

Personally, I think Biden doing something so bold as pardoning 78,000 nonviolent drug offenders is about as likely as the Dems ginning up for another impeachment — of either Trump OR Bill Barr. But I could not agree with Mystal more, here, both in sentiment and intensity.

Then, there was an exchange between Reid and Anthony Scaramucci wherein the Mooch acted ridiculous, and as if he hadn't ever watched AM Joy to notice that they've been on to Bill Barr and Donald Trump since forever. So we can skip right over that part. But when Scaramucci suggested that in order to defeat Trump, one has to think like him, Reid picked up on that thread and asked Mystal to attempt to predict what Trump might do to hang on to power.

MYSTAL: You don't need a flux capacitor to remember that not two weeks ago that Donald Trump or Bill Barr was busy trying to hire the head of the SDNY in the press. And then we saw Geoffrey Berman basically kick and scream to get his deputy appointed to that post, as opposed to Trump's hand-picked golf buddy, Jay Cohen. Why? Was that happening? We are thinking, "Oh, Joy, I don't know!" It's because, I believe, SDNY has ongoing investigations into Donald Trump, into his corrupt family, into his corrupt businesses. That will be coming the minute he is no longer clothed in American military power.

The way that I link up — not the Stone thing but the other big legal news this week — the fact that Supreme Court said that Cy Vance's District Attorney subpoena can go forward, after Trump complains again about it for a little bit, that portends, to me, additional legal, umm, exposure for Donald Trump in 2021, should he lose in November. So I think the law is coming for Trump, but he has to lose. You have to beat him in November for us to have laws.

I mean, it would be nice to live in a country where we still had laws, right? Remember what that was like? I know, it's hard. Because don't look now, but that thing Barr attempted with Geoffrey Berman at SDNY? He actually accomplished that very thing last night in EDNY.

Yeah, Biden losing in November is just not an option, people.

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