Sunny Hostin understands why many Americans have conflicted feelings about the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — but the fact of the matter is, she said, it’s “simply illegal.”
“I thought it was fake news,” she said of the breaking story, adding that as a federal prosecutor, she was “offended” by the illegality of President Donald Trump’s military action on a sovereign nation.
Speaking on “The View” podcast “Behind the Table” on Monday, the co-host told Executive Producer Brian Teta, “I just didn’t think it was possible,” and compared the move to international laws established after World War II.
“There is this international court, it’s actually the highest court in the world, we have the Hague Convention for a reason because we all have to live together,” she said. “And so when I see something like a U.S. military operation without Congress declaring war, without Congress declaring that we’re doing it in self-defense, without Congress declaring anything, it looks very much like an international kidnapping.
“It’s just not how it’s done, and it’s offensive to me as a lawyer and as a person who is somewhat well-versed in the way that the Justice Department is supposed to do things,” she continued. “I’m just offended by the entire thing. To be honest with you, I was out of the country, and when I heard about this, I thought it was fake news. I thought it was not possible that the Navy had done this. I just didn’t think it was possible.”
Hostin added that there are reasons to celebrate that Maduro will likely be convicted and is no longer a political leader in Venezuela. “You can acknowledge that he was an illegitimate dictator, and you can celebrate that he’s no longer there, but the manner in which you dethrone him matters,” she said.
“The rule of law still applies,” she maintained. “And I would suggest that it applies even more under those circumstances. It’s almost like freedom of speech. You want to protect the most heinous speech. You want to apply the law in the most heinous situations. So if you have a really, really, really bad guy that needs to be held to account for his or her actions, then you do it legally. You don’t do it illegally.”
Monday’s “Behind the Table” breakdown elaborated on sentiments shared on “The View” earlier in the day, which saw the panel divided on the fact that it’s “a very happy day” for Venezuela but also “completely, 100% illegal.”
“International law doesn’t allow it unless Congress declares war, and Congress did not do that,” Hostin said at the time. “This country was founded on the premise of the balance of power, right? So, you have checks and balances, so you have co-equal powers, co-equal branches of power.”
“This president is doing whatever the heck he wants, without any checks or balances, and I have never, in my lifetime, seen this type of regime change — which is what we just saw — work out well for the United States,” she continued. “It just doesn’t work, and in my view, this is completely, completely, 100% illegal.”
Watch Hostin’s full “Behind the Table” podcast episode below.
