Harris’ favorable recommendation of scandal-plagued former prosecutor resurfaces after entire defense team resigns

A video of Vice President Kamala Harris praising former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby in 2018 has gone viral, despite Mosby’s facing serious prison time for fraud and perjury charges.

Mosby’s entire defense team resigned last month, further delaying her federal trial in which she is accused of falsely claiming COVID-19-related financial hardship to withdraw $90,000 from her retirement accounts and then using those funds to put down payments on two vacation homes in Florida. She’s also accused of failing to mention unpaid federal taxes on mortgage applications. She has pled not guilty to all of the counts brought against her.

According to Yahoo News, a video from June 2018 shows Harris speaking at a campaign event for Mosby on the day of the Democratic primary election for Baltimore state’s attorney. If convicted, the former high-profile prosecutor faces up to five years in jail for perjury and up to 30 years for fraud.

“We better understand that we got to march and shout about what we need to do to reform the criminal justice system,” Harris, then a California senator, said in the video, which was shared on Mosby’s Instagram and Twitter.

“We better understand that we got to march and shout with our paychecks and all of the work that we can do to actually make sure that somebody like Marilyn Mosby gets re-elected into that office – to not only get convictions but have convictions,” Harris continued. “There are a lot of people who are highly critical of her because she heard the voices of the people and said, ‘Even if I can’t win, I’m going to do the right thing.’”

“It’s going to be rough, is going to be tough,” she said. “She cannot fail, and I know she will not fail. When we march, and we shout about what we need to do to reform the criminal justice system.” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said in the video that Mosby’s “courage” left her “overwhelmed.”

Mosby wrote in the Instagram post that she was “confident that the citizens of Baltimore will stand with me as we work to make our City safer and fairer.”

“I have so many people to thank and I am humbled by the support I have received from every corner of Baltimore and from all over the country, including from two of my mentors and inspirations, @kamalaharris and our ‘auntie’ @repmaxinewaters,” Mosby wrote at the time.

Mosby won the primary and ran unopposed in the regular election in November 2018. She lost her re-election bid in the Democratic primary last year after being charged in federal court.

Mosby held the position for two high-profile terms, including attempting to charge many officers in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who died in police custody.

During the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Mosby, as state’s attorney, controversially urged her office to stop prosecuting quality-of-life offenses including drug possession and prostitution, stating that it was important to limit the risk of outbreaks in jails and prisons. The trial was rescheduled on November 2nd after her entire defense team resigned last month. The case’s jury selection is slated to begin on Oct. 31.