Today's Morning Joe continued its campaign of defending Joe Biden in connection with his possession of classified documents after leaving the vice-presidency.
Yesterday, we described how the show quite literally turned itself into a law firm, as it sought to distinguish Biden's case with that of Donald Trump. There was more of that today, with Jonathan Lemire lamenting "we're going to try to hear the equivalence between these two moments. Perhaps even, this makes Merrick Garland's job harder, in terms of bringing a charge against Donald Trump. But these two cases, though similar, Joe, are not the same. Not even close."
Scarborough took things a big step further, virtually instructing AG Merrick Garland to prosecute Donald Trump . . . but not Biden. Why not Biden? Because, declared Scarborough unequivocally, "Joe Biden didn't commit a crime!"
Scarborough would brook no suggestion that the disclosure of Biden's possession of classified documents in any way makes Garland's decision on whether to prosecute Trump any harder.
Mika Brzezinski chimed in to curiously claim that, rather than making Garland's decision on prosecuting Trump harder, the reality is "actually the opposite." So, Biden also having taken classified docs makes it easier for Garland to prosecute Trump? Whatever, Mika.
Also: did Scarborough take a shot at NewsBusters? At one point, he said that the conservative media "can lie all they want to people that are . . . reading their [sneering tone] blogs."
Huh. Wonder which "blogs" Joe had in mind?
Note: Pretending impartiality, Scarborough twice said that Garland should charge Biden if he found that he had committed a crime. But Scarborough's pretense of fairness was negated by his emphatic declaration that "Joe Biden didn't commit a crime!"
On Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough telling Attorney General Merrick Garland to prosecute Donald Trump but not Joe Biden for possessing classified documents was sponsored in part by Consumer Cellular, Liberty Mutual, Sleep Number, and GlaxoSmithKline, maker or Voltaren.
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
1/11/23
6:19 am ETJONATHAN LEMIRE: A dishonest one, but a talking point all the same, that is going to be amplified all throughout the conservative media. So, we're going to try to hear the equivalence between these two moments. Perhaps even, this makes Merrick Garland's job harder, in terms of bringing a charge against Donald Trump. But these two cases, though similar, Joe, are not the same. Not even close.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Well, it can circulate around in pro-Trump media. But we've seen, that does no good. Why, let me recount the years that did no good. 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022.
They can lie all they want to people that are watching their shows, that are listening to their podcasts, that are reading their blogs [chuckles derisively] or whatever they're doing. It doesn't matter! Americans, the swing voters, the independents, are on to the stupidity.
As for Merrick Garland. I've heard this now for the last day or two. Oh, this makes Merrick Garland's job tougher because of politics. No, it really doesn't. Listen, if Joe Biden committed a crime, charge him! If Donald Trump committed a crime, charge him! That's pretty simple.
Guess what? Joe Biden didn't commit a crime! They found the documents, they turned them back. Donald Trump most likely did commit a crime, and it's straightforward. So if Merrick Garland or anybody at the DoJ ar wringing their hands, they're not just doing a disservice to America. They're doing a disservice to justice. They're doing a disservice to the rule of law, if they in any way are distracted by this ground noise.
Again, let me say, if in their investigation of Joe Biden they find anything illegal, charge him. We're, we're a nation of laws. Not a nation of rulers that are above the law. I know Donald Trump thinks he is. He's not!
But the thing is, Biden's people found it. They immediately self-reported. Turned it in the next day. Donald Trump lied repeatedly to the FBI. Lied to the DoJ. Withheld documents when he knew it was part of an ongoing inquiry.
So again, I, I really don't want to hear anybody from the DoJ saying, oh, well, this makes it harder for us to actually administer justice.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Actually, the opposite.
SCARBOROUGH: No. Politics here. Justice here. Okay? Bring justice. Prove that no man is above the law.
