Melissa Murray
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profmmurray.bsky.social
Melissa Murray
@profmmurray.bsky.social
Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Prof. of Law @nyulaw.bsky.social; Faculty Dir. @bwlcnyu.bsky.social; co-host @strictscrutiny.bsky.social; talking head @ms.now; @NYTimes.com bestselling author. Views mine. RT not endrsmt.
Reposted by Melissa Murray
From Trump's perspective, Venezuelans' rights, interests, and agency are absolutely irrelevant. We--the US--"need to be surrounded by safe countries" and we--the US--"also need the energy out of the ground." This is "when you're a star, they let you do it" but as foreign policy.
January 3, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
Trump, on the reason for not informing Congress until after the fact: “Congress will leak, and we don’t want leakers.”
Q: "Did you notify members of Congress in advance?"

Rubio: "We called members of Congress immediately after. This was not the kind of mission that you can do Congressional notification on."
January 3, 2026 at 5:34 PM
January 3, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
So for months they have tried to blame the entire fentanyl crisis on Venezuela and the indictment only mentions cocaine, which they pardoned a different guy for weeks ago
January 3, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
Hmm
January 3, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
I'm seriously starting to question the credibility of the FIFA Peace Prize.
January 3, 2026 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
Some polling:
Invading Venezuela - 19% approve, 60% disapprove
OK to go w/o Congressional approval - 11% yes, 74% no
👇
Invading Venezuela is a close second:
19% approve, 60% disapprove.
January 3, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
JD Vance's stated justification, drugs and:

"Stolen oil"
January 3, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
When I teach my seminar on coups we keep a running tab on how many regime changes were motivated at least in part by desire for oil or other valuable commodities...
January 3, 2026 at 2:33 PM
A consequence of our new illegal war: cancelled Caribbean flights, with spillover effects on domestic travel. Sitting in an airport now because there is no pilot for our plane. Pilot was coming in from San Juan. Airlines scrambling to staff domestic flights.

Make America Late Again.
January 3, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
1. Maduro is not a good guy by any stretch of the imagination.
2. But capturing him through an extra-legal action that violates international law undermines any US credibility with Russia in Ukraine and China with Taiwan.
3. We have a terrible history with topping leaders without a post-war plan.
January 3, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts.

Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.
January 3, 2026 at 10:52 AM
"Likely" doing a lot of work here.
January 3, 2026 at 12:56 PM
I've seen Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo. It's not his politics.
The "lost the rest of my barbershop quartet" guy thinks it's his politics that keep the roles away
January 1, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
More than a seat warmer!!!!
Once more with feeling! Still keeping the anchor chair warm for
@arimelber.bsky.social tonight on The Beat on @msnowreports.bsky.social! Tune in!
January 1, 2026 at 1:56 AM
Reposted by Melissa Murray



Dani Benksy, a victim of late child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, slammed President Donald Trump’s rollout of Epstein files as “another punishment.”
Benksy joined Melissa Murray on Tuesday’s The Beat on MSNBC, where she accused Trump of engaging in the same “power play” as Epstein. Benk...
‘Another Punishment’: Epstein Victim Slams Trump’s Partial Files Release as ‘Incredibly Frustrating’
Dani Benksy, a victim of late child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, slammed President Donald Trump’s rollout of Epstein files as “another punishment.” Benksy joined Melissa Murray on Tuesday’s The Beat on MSNBC, where she accused Trump of engaging in the same “power play” as Epstein. Benksy’s former phone number was revealed in one of the recent Epstein files releases, something she argued proved the administration is looking out more for “predators” than victims.” “This rollout, first of all, is never meant to be a rollout. It was meant to be a hard deadline. But it’s done a number on all of us because it’s just been handled so sloppily, and names have not been redacted when they should have been,” Bensky said. Epstein died in 2019 of an apparent suicide while facing sex trafficking charges. Trump signed a law forcing the release of files related to Epstein following favorable votes in Congress to do so. The administration missed its deadline earlier this month to release the full files, instead saying they would release them on a rolling basis. “So just the process itself has been kind of the punishment for you, another punishment on top of what you’ve already endured,” Murray told Bensky on Tuesday. “It does feel that way. And I think something that we’re finding is it actually moves to a point that like the— those in power prey on the vulnerable. And that is something that we have seen time and time again. It is really at the heart of all exploitation,” Bensky said. She went on to slam Trump for the Epstein files redactions and slow rollout. Bensky said: It feels like you know he’s talking to Marjorie Taylor Greene about that we don’t have the merit to be in the people’s house, which by the way, it’s the people house. This is not a country club with his name on the side of it. You know, there’s no monogram. It’s just wild to me. Like, there’s a statistic out there that there are one in four women who have been assaulted or abused so when you think about about that number across the U.S. it’s absolutely staggering. So when we say the people’s house you’re talking about survivors you know they make up a huge portion of our country it’s not just about this one case. Watch above via MS NOW.The post ‘Another Punishment’: Epstein Victim Slams Trump’s Partial Files Release as ‘Incredibly Frustrating’ first appeared on Mediaite.
postgoo.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
Once more with feeling! Still keeping the anchor chair warm for
@arimelber.bsky.social tonight on The Beat on @msnowreports.bsky.social! Tune in!
December 30, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
Loved talking abortion policy with the great @profmmurray.bsky.social on @ms.now !
December 30, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
HA! 😆

@profmmurray.bsky.social referred to #Trump 's obsession with putting his name and image on buildings and institutions as his well-documented "edifice complex."

youtu.be/BPCFZZjO5zU?...

I LOVE that 🤩

That's very #pithy 🤓

#lol @ms.now #msnow #TheKennedyCenter #DonaldTrump #wordplay
December 31, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Just putting it into the universe that me and a zillion other Black women would watch the f$&k out of Emily in Accra. Greenlight it! And cast Yara Shahidi as the lead!
December 31, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Once more with feeling! Still keeping the anchor chair warm for
@arimelber.bsky.social tonight on The Beat on @msnowreports.bsky.social! Tune in!
December 30, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
#Swifties

Leah Litman & Melissa Murray on The Beat (both Swifties) gives me such hope for 2026!

We need more smart & strong women reporting the truth.
Keeping the anchor chair warm for @arimelber.bsky.social tonight on The Beat on @msnowreports.bsky.social. Tune in!
December 30, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
@beatwithari.bsky.social
@profmmurray.bsky.social
@robertgarcia.house.gov
Not just your team and the media are doing what they can, but so are everyday citizens that volunteer their time, money, and relevant skills to help out how they can like @a5omic.bsky.social’s website epsteinarchive.web.app
December 30, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Keeping the anchor chair warm for @arimelber.bsky.social tonight on The Beat on @msnowreports.bsky.social. Tune in!
December 29, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Reposted by Melissa Murray
"When a nation no longer agrees that rules matter, it becomes very easy to bulldoze right over them. In the absence of rules and process, democracy deteriorates to raw power struggles where winners take all, and the very idea of a shared system begins to fray."
~ Melissa Murray, law professor-MSNOW
December 28, 2025 at 9:06 PM