It was only two weeks ago that MSNBC hosts were consumed with righteous outrage that a “liar” and “election denier” like Ronna McDaniel would be permitted to sully their “sacred airwaves.” This was not, they assured us, because of her politics, but rather an issue of propriety. If that’s true though, then it’s odd that these paragons of journalistic integrity had no such reservations about last night’s The Beat with Ari Melber, which featured an interview with disgraced attorney (and convicted felon) Michael Avenatti — who joined the show from prison.
Back in 2018, Avenatti became a media darling of unprecedented proportions for his role in the Stormy Daniels case against then-President Trump. In the course of a single year, he enjoyed an absurd 254 on-air interviews across six cable (CNN, Fox, and MSNBC) and broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC). He was the media’s greatest hope in their war against Trump, and many journalists at the time speculated that he might be the one to finally bring down the mean orange man.
Look at how much they adored this guy:
Instead though, the attention-loving porn lawyer’s meteoric rise was punctuated with a rather messy fall from grace. In 2019 he was was indicted on a plethora of criminal charges, including one instance in which he apparently concealed of a $4 million settlement from a paraplegic client for personal gain. When all was said and done, Avenatti was staring down the barrel of 10 million-dollar fine and a 14-year prison sentence
That brings us to Tuesday night, when MSNBC host Ari Melber inexplicably decided that an unserious grifter in an orange jump suit would be the perfect guest to analyze NYC District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Donald Trump.
After a bit of fairly unremarkable legal analysis of Bragg’s case (spoilers: Avenatti, along with everyone else with a law degree in the country, thinks Bragg’s case has got a lot of holes) Melber donned his dramatic irony hat for this whopper of a question:
You have implied that your treatment by the then-Barr and Trump Justice Department was harsher than other people may have been dealt with, if they weren’t in your position. You had become, for a time, a very prominent foe of then-President Donald Trump. Do you say tonight that there is evidence that you were treated differently, and if so, does that mean anything for what a second Trump DOJ might look like?
Politically-motivated prosecutions? In 2024? Imagine!
Never mind the Biden DOJ’s revenge tour against former Trump White House officials that commenced the day Merrick Garland took office. Never mind that case which Melber and Avenatti were discussing was itself one of numerous politically-motivated attempts to hamper Trump in an election year.
Never mind that Avenatti’s own case against Trump, not to mention the media’s adoration of him for it, was transparently politically motivated. It turns out the real victim of political persecution was Michael Avenatti all along. Who knew?
Thanks to Ari Melber for highlighting this gross injustice. We hope that he will continue to speak out bravely about Avenatti’s plight.