MSNBC’s Joy Reid and Katie Phang were not happy on the Thursday edition of The ReidOut that Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis has had to defend herself against accusations that hiring Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor in the RICO-election case against Donald Trump represents a conflict of interest. The two played both the race and sexism cards against Willis’s critics, but the only thing they proved was that identity politics turns your brain into mush, as Phang, a lawyer, couldn’t understand the difference between the prosecution and the defense.
Reid took the opportunity to do a little self-promotion, “Well, and the thing is, Katie, you, as a woman of color, who have to stand in a courtroom, you know this all too well. Yeah, look, I have a book about this, about the way they did this to Myrlie Evers-Williams: be pretty, but not too pretty. Be forceful, but not too forceful. Don't be loud, don't be angry.”
Defending Willis in a way she never defended Brett Kavanaugh, Reid continued:
Excuse me, if you're questioning my integrity and accusing me of hiring somebody that I was having an affair with when I'm telling you the timeline and then asking did my kids live at my house? You want to know how much money I have? Is he giving me cash? She was insulted and rightfully so. This idea that women of color have to sit there and be demure and take it, there were people on social media saying "oh, she's coming in too hot." No, she wasn't. She was offended and she had a right to be offended.
Phang began by claiming, “Yeah, so you know, there is something to be said about decorum and professionalism, but you didn't hear anything that wasn't decorum and professionalism from Fani Willis. I'm glad you bring about the example of being a woman of color, especially in a courtroom.”
Also reaching for the identity politics bag of tricks, Phang added, “There are more women that are in law school than there ever was when I was in law school, but the problem is when it comes to women of color, we're so sorely, sorely underrepresented when it comes to court. Especially, especially, Joy, when it comes to trials. When it comes to trial lawyers and so for a woman to have to defend the fact that she makes her own money, the fact her daddy told her to make sure she had money stashed away. My mom told me the same damn thing.”
Later, she ranted, “In fact, in this case, you have lawyers on the defense side that are married to each other. You have lawyers on the defense side that are dating each other, and yet nobody has made a big stink about that. It is only the defense making a big stink about that for Fani Willis.”
Yes, because the prosecution has the power of the state and the defense, by definition, does not initiate cases. Wasn’t Phang supposed to be the legal expert?
Still, Phang concluded by urging people to remember, “The important thing that everybody has to remember what Fani Willis said today is this: she's not on trial. It's the people that tried to steal an election in the state of Georgia that are on trial. This is a sad, sorry side show that needs to end.”
Maybe Willis should’ve considered that before bringing Wade onboard.
Here is a transcript for the February 15 show:
MSNBC The ReidOut
2/15/2024
7:11 PM ET
JOY REID: Well, and the thing is, Katie, you, as a woman of color, who have to stand in a courtroom, you know this all too well. Yeah, look, I have a book about this, about the way they did this to Myrlie Evers-Williams: be pretty, but not too pretty. Be forceful, but not too forceful. Don't be loud, don't be angry.
Excuse me, if you're questioning my integrity and accusing me of hiring somebody that I was having an affair with when I'm telling you the timeline and then asking did my kids live at my house? You want to know how much money I have? Is he giving me cash?
She was insulted and rightfully so. This idea that women of color have to sit there and be demure and take it, there were people on social media saying "oh, she's coming in too hot." No, she wasn't. She was offended and she had a right to be offended.
KATIE PHANG: Yeah, so you know, there is something to be said about decorum and professionalism, but you didn't hear anything that wasn't decorum and professionalism from Fani Willis. I'm glad you bring about the example of being a woman of color, especially in a courtroom. There are more women that are in law school than there ever was when I was in law school, but the problem is when it comes to women of color, we're so sorely, sorely underrepresented when it comes to court.
Especially, especially, Joy, when it comes to trials. When it comes to trial lawyers and so for a woman to have to defend the fact that she makes her own money, the fact her daddy told her to make sure she had money stashed away.
My mom told me the same damn thing.
REID: Same.
PHANG: Make sure that you have money stashed away to take care of yourself because you shouldn't count on someone else, right Errin?
And that's the thing. Why should anybody have to defend this? But under the law, unfortunately, because the other side made these representations that met this threshold that forced this evidentiary hearing to have to come to pass, that is the reason why Fani Willis and Nathan Wade got dragged into court, but I will remind our viewers too, Joy, under Georgia law, you do not disqualify a prosecutor simply because there is a personal relationship. In fact, in this case, you have lawyers on the defense side that are married to each other. You have lawyers on the defense side that are dating each other, and yet nobody has made a big stink about that. It is only the defense making a big stink about that for Fani Willis.
The important thing that everybody has to remember what Fani Willis said today is this: she's not on trial. It's the people that tried to steal an election in the state of Georgia that are on trial. This is a sad, sorry side show that needs to end.
