It is a cheap shot. It is disgusting. It also did exactly what the Senator wanted it to do: got him some attention in this hearing.What makes this cheap quip so ugly is what comes after the quoted response:
— Owen Barcala (@obarcala) November 18, 2021
"My family suffered under the Communist regime. I grew up without knowing half of my family. My grandmother escaped death twice under the Stalinist regime. This is what's seared in my mind." https://t.co/zZSFG10qQU
He won't suffer for the attention at all. People who don't like him won't vote for him. Probably a majority of the voters in Louisiana will. And now they can read all about this, and decide he's their guy. And the rest of us can feel morally superior.
Ain't the internet grand?
BTW:
First Amendment lawyers are gonna weigh in on this (although it's Twitter, EVERYBODY'S an expert legal practitioner in all fields on Twitter), but me, I say "Meh." I also say "Don't fuck with juries and give the defense an excuse to ask for a mistrial the trial court would probably have to grant."Haha. Hahahahaha.
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) November 18, 2021
Dear First Amendment Lawyers... DO YOU THING NOW or GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FACE FOREVER. https://t.co/GaFTfh1Ute
Lots of responses to this that the judge failed to give MSNBC due process (no, they aren't smart enough to know that's what they're saying) but the short version is the First Amendment doesn't give journalists untrammeled rights or access to jury trials. Disrupt proceedings, you're out. Judges can bar cameras as they wish, which is hardly a 1st Amendment violation, and last time I looked, MSNBC does its reporting on TeeVee.
So Elie Mystal is a crank, and this is frankly another good reason not to have TV cameras in a courtroom. Way too much bullshit, and if the defense doesn't try to bring this up in a motion for mistrial (if only so they can preserve the error if they lose the case), I'll be very surprised.
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