Attorney and MSNBC chief legal analyst Ari Melber — who covers the Department of Justice, FBI and the Supreme Court — used a reality TV show analogy to explain the closing arguments made by the prosecution and the defense teams in former President Donald Trump‘s trial in Manhattan, where the presumptive GOP presidential nominee faces 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business documents to cover up payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Melber said: “If this was a cooking show, it’s not like both contestants have to make a great meal. The prosecution has to have the five-course perfect meal with every ingredient. And if the defense is able to serve an edible hot dog, that might be reasonable doubt.”
. @AriMelber explains the defense’s “edible hot dog” lower bar for success in a metaphorical Trump trial cook-off. pic.twitter.com/zC77jbAoAW
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) May 29, 2024
In additional to dishing out analogies, Melber is known for his interviewing skills. He conducted several interviews with former Trump White House aide Peter Navarro, including the one below which was cited as evidence by Congress to hold Navarro in contempt, after he refused to comply with a subpoena and testify before the House Select Committee on the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Peter Navarro’s recent interviews with @AriMelber just came back to bite him pic.twitter.com/nJlYVVQxwp
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 29, 2022
Melber, who received his law degree from the Ivy League’s Cornell University after working on Democrat John Kerry‘s presidential campaign, also wrote a foreword to the HarperCollins edition of the January 6 Report.