MSNBC’s Scarborough Completely Ignores the History of US Detainee Trials

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:06 pm

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On MSNBC’s Morning Joe today, host Joe Scarborough jumped on the fear mongering bandwagon over trying detainees in the United States. Scarborough claimed that, “This has never happened before. It is unprecedented,” but this is not even close to true as both the Bush and Clinton administrations tried terror suspects in the United States.

Here is the video from Media Matters:

Scarborough said, “I am completely flummoxed as to why the chairman of the Judiciary Committee would compare KSM to Timothy McVeigh. Timothy McVeigh born in the United States of America, a citizen of the United States of America, afforded all the constitutional protections that are afforded to those who are citizens of the United States of America, and he and people like him, have been awarded those constitutional protections for over 200 years. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented.”

Scarborough needs to learn that when he blindly mouths Republican talking points, he is going to sound like an idiot. Have all of these Republican critics of the plan forgotten about the trials of the al-Qaeda members who were involved in the first World Trade Center bombing? Those trials took place in New York City. What about shoe bomber Richard Reid? His trial also took place in the United States.

This is nothing new or unprecedented. Both the Bush and Clinton administrations tried foreign terror suspects in the United States. The idea that Obama is risking national security by holding these trials in the US is 100% inaccurate. This is nothing more than a desperate attempt by the Republican Party to fear monger their way back to power through the issue of national security.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association