On Wednesday, we caught Mika Brzezinski exulting over Donald Trump's legal travails, saying:
"He can't run, he can't hide, he can't pardon himself, and he cannot avoid going to jail if convicted of these charges."
On Thursday, it was Scarborough's turn to indulge in unseemly gloating, with the target this time being Rudy Giuliani.
Morning Joe opened with clips of Rudy, back in the day as a federal prosecutor, talking about his extensive use of RICO statutes. The show then rolled a current clip of Rudy criticizing the use of RICO statutes in his Georgia election case. Said Scarborough:
"It's sort of fascinating, the perfect circle. This is, of course, what Elton John would sing about in The Lion King: this is the circle of life. "Live by the sword, die by the sword, another way to say it."
If anything is going to stir the Trump base, and even begin to make some non-Trumpists consider whether the liberal establishment is seeking vengeance and not justice toward Trump and his associates, it could be this kind of distasteful reveling.
Note: The Wall Street Journal editorial page has been consistent in its opposition to overreaching with the RICO statutes: back in the day, they criticized its use when Rudy applied it to Wall Street back in the 1980s, and oppose it today in the election cases. Scarborough could care less: he delights in seeing Trump, Rudy et al. in the RICO barrel.
Joe Scarborough gloating over Rudy Giuliani being indicted on RICO statutes in the Georgia election case, saying, "live by the sword, die by the sword," was sponsored in part by Volkswagen and Sleep Number.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
8/16/23
6:00 am EDTRUDY GIULIANI [in the past, as prosecutor]: I do think that the work in my office and other parts of the Justice Department has changed the definition of the problem of crime in America.
We're going to have to attack it as a business, not just as individual crime.
We have followed up with civil RICO cases. There will be some point in the future where we will destroy the power of the Mafia.
GIULIANI [present day]: This is a ridiculous application of the racketeering statute. There's probably no one that knows it better than I do; probably some that know it as well, as. I was the first one to use it in white-collar cases, but in major cases, like the Boesky case and the Milken case. This is not meant for election disputes. I mean, this is ridiculous what she's doing.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: He actually -- it's sort of fascinating, the perfect circle. This is, of course, what Elton John would sing about in The Lion King: this is the circle of life.
Live by the sword, die by the sword, another way to say it. Because Rudy, who was once celebrated for his really, really aggressive use of RICO laws, is now indicted under [dramatic pause] RICO laws.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Yes! He's accused along with Donald Trump and 17 others of trying to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results, and that's his reaction. He's kind of excited about it.
Good morning. And welcome to Morning Joe. It is Wednesday, August 16th.
