Before he became the special counsel for two separate criminal cases against former President Donald Trump, Jack Smith prosecuted war crimes at The Hague. And he's using what he learned about authoritarian leaders from this international prosecution in his fight to bring Trump to justice for the 2020 plot to overturn the election, argued former prosecutor Renato Mariotti on MSNBC's "The Beat" Thursday.
"Autocrats use propaganda," said anchor Ari Melber. "That's been true even as the nature of distribution has changed in many different eras. And propaganda is dangerous, precisely because you don't have to physically oppress people. You don't need weaponry if you trick enough of them into this or that position, whether that's hating authoritarianism or groups. I want to play that other piece of footage where he makes a point — again, who could see how things echo. People have a choice of what they want to repost on Facebook or whatever platform they use. And I thought this was so striking that in a related context of both authoritarianism and ethnic hate, he talked about the ethical people who chose not to perpetuate things. Take a listen."
"The accused, in committing their crimes, tried to amplify the damage they caused by exhorting the media in Kosovo to publish," said Smith in the clip. "The ethical journalists refused to publish the documents they provided them."
"This question is as much societal as it is legal," continued Melber. "I'm not talking about a repost or publisher's liability. I'm asking you the deeper question about why you're a prosecutor, why you care about justice, which is, what do you think of his appeal of how we all exercise our choices in the face of propaganda matters and how that relates at home right now?"
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"It's pretty profound," said Mariotti. "I have to say, I'm struck by the way in which he has an understanding of some of the softer ways in which people can exercise power. It's such an interesting, different approach to Robert Mueller. Robert Mueller was very old school. He saw things, I think, in the way that — in a very black-and-white way that the Justice Department traditionally has. Jack Smith ... he's from a different generation. I think he understands the way an authoritarian can use these soft methods of increasing their power and staying in power."
"I think his experience prosecuting a sitting head of state, as you highlighted a moment ago, really prepared him for a moment like this," added Mariotti. "It shows when someone is desperate to stay in power, it's important, ultimately, to find the way to bring him to account quickly, and I think that's what he's trying to do here."
Watch the video below or at the link.
Renato Mariotti says Jack Smith knows how authoritarians workwww.youtube.com
