Glenn Kirshner

Glenn Kirschner did not set out to become a television political commentator. He became one
after the rise of Trumpism, when he saw the rule of law—the principle to which he had devoted
his entire professional life- - come under unprecedented assault.

For more than three decades as an attorney Kirschner prosecuted soldiers, spies, organized-crime figures and murderers, guided by the principle that no one is above the law. Those years in the courtroom taught him that laws have meaning only when they are enforced fairly - and that a justice system loses its legitimacy when the powerful are permitted to escape accountability.

Kirschner earned a law degree at New England School of Law in 1987. The following year he
entered the Army JAG Corps, where he developed skill as a criminal trial lawyer. Kirschner later
became an Army appellate attorney, handling some of the military’s most serious cases,
including matters involving espionage and the death penalty.

After leaving active duty as a captain, Kirschner joined the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District
of Columbia in 1994, beginning a 24-year career as a federal prosecutor. He eventually joined
the homicide section, where future FBI director Robert Mueller became an important mentor.
Over the course of his prosecutorial career, Kirschner tried more than 50 murder cases and
handled RICO, conspiracy, obstruction and other complex prosecutions. In 2004, he was named
chief of the homicide section, supervising approximately 30 prosecutors responsible for some of Washington’s most difficult cases.

 

Kirschner retired from the Justice Department in 2018, but not from the fight to preserve
democracy. His experience made him a natural legal analyst as Americans tried to make sense of the revelations of Mueller’s special counsel investigation of Russian interference in the 2016
election. His commentary has expanded greatly since then in response to Trump’s misconduct
in office. He joined NBC News and MSNBC, spending more than six years translating
complicated questions of criminal and constitutional law for a national audience.

In 2020, Kirschner created Justice Matters, his YouTube channel and podcast gave him the
independence of his own platform. By this means he has been able to more directly address
threats to democratic institutions, government accountability and the integrity of the justice
system.

“I don’t really want them to stop investigating all of Donald Trump’s new crimes. I want them to
hold him accountable for just one of the flippn’ crimes we all know he committed that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.” 

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA – AUGUST 14, 2026