Elie Mystal Jr. (born May 10, 1978) is an American attorney, writer, and

political commentator A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

. He is the justice correspondent at ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'', where he writes about the courts and the criminal justice system. Mystal has described himself as a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Early life and education

Mystal is the son of Elie Mystal Sr., the first African American elected to the Suffolk County (New York state) Legislature and later fined $84,300 because he violated residency laws when he was elected. He received a degree in government at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and a Juris Doctor degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

Career

Mystal is a former associate and litigator at the

Debevoise & Plimpton Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (often shortened to Debevoise) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1931 by Harvard Law School alumnus Eli Whitney Debevoise and Oxford-trained William Stevenson, the firm was original ...

law firm. He is a former executive editor of the Above the Law legal news website. He has made guest appearances on

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

and

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

. He is the author of ''Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution'', which is intended to be an "easily digestible argument about what rights we have, what rights Republicans are trying to take away, and how to stop them." Mystal's book, which was published by

The New Press The New Press is an independent non-profit public-interest book publisher established in 1992 by André Schiffrin''The New York Times'' Best Seller list that same month. As of 2022 he was a board member of

Demand Justice Demand Justice is a politically progressive American 501(c)(4) legal advocacy organization. It focuses on motivating left-leaning voters based on its goal of changing the composition of the American federal judiciary, as well as encouraging the ...

, a liberal judicial advocacy group.

Views

Mystal has described himself as a

. He has been an outspoken supporter of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

, and legal rights and protections for

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

people. In March 2022, he said the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

is "actually trash", pointing to the

Fugitive Slave Clause The Fugitive Slave Clause in the United States Constitution, also known as either the Slave Clause or the Fugitives From Labor Clause, is Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3, which requires a "person held to service or labor" (usually a slave, appre ...

and the Three-fifths Compromise. In the same interview, he said about the Constitution: "We act like this thing was kind of etched in stone by the finger of God, when actually it was hotly contested and debated, scrawled out over a couple of weeks in the summer in Philadelphia in 1787, with a bunch of rich, white politicians making deals with each other." Mystal has also described the

founders of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...

as "racist, misogynist jerk-faces" and "sick, rapist bastards". Mystal described the United States as a "racist pariah state" in 2020. In 2021 he said the United States spreads "the myth of white exceptionalism" through its education system. In August 2022, Mystal described Republican Senate nominee

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia. ...

as "what Republicans want from their Negroes" because he "so clearly doesn't have independent thoughts" and would "do what he's told" as a senator. Mystal rejected an invitation to "break bread" with Walker until "he talks to the Senator from Georgia

Raphael Warnock Raphael Gamaliel Warnock ( ; born July 23, 1969) is an American Baptist pastor and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he assumed office on January 20, 2021. Since 20 ...

about the actual issues affecting Georgia voters.”

Publications

* ''Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution''. New York:

The New Press The New Press is an independent non-profit public-interest book publisher established in 1992 by André Schiffrin1978 births American lawyers American male journalists American writers Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Legal writers Living people The Nation (U.S. magazine) people People associated with Debevoise & Plimpton Political commentators