Glenn Kirschner

Glenn Kirschner
Kirschner in 2018
Personal details
Born (1961-01-02) January 2, 1961[1]
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationWashington and Lee University (BA)New England Law Boston (JD)
ProfessionAttorney
Websiteglennkirschner.com
Military service
ServiceUnited States Army
Years of service1988–1994
RankCaptain
UnitU.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps

Glenn Louis Kirschner (born January 2, 1961[1]) is an American attorney, a former U.S. Army prosecutor, a former assistant U.S. Attorney in the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and a former NBC News/MSNBC legal analyst.[2]

Early life

Glenn Louis Kirschner[3] was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 2, 1961,[4] and raised in New Jersey.[5] He graduated from Point Pleasant Borough High School in 1979,[5][6] where he wrestled[7] and played football,[8] and earned a U.S. Army Student Achievement Award.[6] He then attended Washington and Lee University.[5] While at Washington and Lee, he was awarded an Army ROTC scholarship and joined the Virginia Beta chapter of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity.[5][9] He played for the Washington and Lee Generals football team as a center on the offensive line for four seasons and was elected by his teammates as one of three team captains for his senior year. Kirschner earned Old Dominion Athletic Conference all-conference honors in his sophomore, junior and senior years and was named a first-team Kodak All-American college football player in his senior year. He was inducted into Washington and Lee University's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.[10]

After graduating from Washington and Lee with a degree in journalism in 1984, Kirschner obtained an educational deferment of his military service to attend law school.[11] While attending New England Law Boston, he earned two American Jurisprudence awards (in trial practice and wills, estates and trusts) and was designated a Board of Trustees Scholar after his second year.[12] He received his J.D. degree cum laude in 1987 and entered active duty with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps in January 1988.[11]

Career

Upon entering active duty as a Judge Advocate General officer, Kirschner completed his first tour as an Army prosecutor at Fort Richardson in Alaska.[11] In that capacity, he investigated and prosecuted court-martial cases and served as legal advisor to the post's many commanding officers.[11] After three years in that assignment, Kirschner was transferred to the U.S. Army's Legal Services Agency in Falls Church, Virginia, where he served as a government appellate attorney handling criminal appeals of court-martial convictions.[11] These included espionage and death penalty cases.[11]

Following more than six years of active duty service, Kirschner was honorably discharged from the Army at the rank of captain.[11] In June 1994, he joined the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia office as an assistant U.S. Attorney.[13]

After a few early rotational assignments, Kirschner joined the U.S. Attorney Office (USAO) Homicide Section, led at the time by Robert Mueller.[11] Kirschner spent 24 years at the DC USAO, prosecuting lengthy RICO trials in DC Federal Court and murder/conspiracy/obstruction of justice cases in DC Superior Court.[11] In addition to prosecuting more than 50 murder trials, Kirschner was Chief of the Homicide Section from 2004 to 2010.[11] He retired from the US Attorney's office on June 1, 2018.[11]

Notable cases in which Kirschner has worked include:

  • U.S. v. Aundrey Burno - Motivated by a desire to steal a police officer's Glock firearm, the defendant ambushed an on-duty police officer, shooting him in the neck.[14]
  • U.S. v. Jose Rodriguez-Cruz - In 1989, EPA employee Pam Butler disappeared. In 2016, the cold case was revived, and enough evidence was developed to charge Butler's boyfriend with her murder. Although Butler's body was never found, the defendant pleaded guilty in 2017.[15][16]
  • U.S. v. Albrecht Muth - A controversial case involving a highly skilled conman in elite DC political circles who murdered his elderly, socialite wife, Viola Herms Drath. Kirschner tried Muth in absentia while Muth remained in his hospital bed after having starved himself into physical incapacitation. The case is the subject of a major motion picture directed by and starring Christoph Waltz titled Georgetown, which was released in April 2019.[17]

Film portrayal

In the 2019 film Georgetown, directed by Christoph Waltz,[18] Kirschner is portrayed by Paulino Nunes in his role as the prosecutor in the Albrecht Muth case.[19] Described by the website ComingSoon.net, Georgetown "is inspired by the true story of Albrecht Muth, who was convicted in 2011 for murdering his much older socialite wife in Washington, D.C. Based on one of the city's most sensational scandals of recent times, the film will tell the story of an unconventional love affair, an outsider striving for acceptance and the desperate struggle for significance on every level."[20]

Media commentary

For developments with the Special Counsel Bob Mueller investigation, Kirschner provided legal commentary on national news media programs such as MSNBC' s Morning Joe, MSNBC Live[21] and Hardball with Chris Matthews, CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper and The Stephanie Miller Show.[22]

In mid-September 2020, Kirschner argued that President Donald Trump should be charged with manslaughter for deaths resulting from him intentionally lying to the American public about the danger posed by COVID-19 virus during the COVID pandemic.[23][24]

Kirschner produces a daily legal news analysis video on his Justice Matters YouTube channel.[25] In November 2022, Kirschner teamed up with YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen[26] to produce a series called Legal Breakdown,[27] in which Cohen discusses legal topics with Kirschner, such as the former president and his political allies' legal exposure in various civil suits and criminal cases.[28]

References

  1. ^ ab"Happy Birthday, Glenn". January 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ^"'Reasons may surprise you': Lawyer says he's leaving MSNBC — and heading to right-wing TV". Raw Story. February 15, 2025. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
  3. ^"Wedding Announcement, Kirschner-Gifol". Asbury Park Press. Neptune, NJ. August 29, 1985. p. D13. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^Hochron, Adam (December 18, 2009). "Kirschner takes Lessons Learned in Boro to D.C."The Ocean Star. Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. p. 43. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Before graduating from the Boro in 1979, Kirschner, now 48...
  5. ^ abcdManning, Katharine (January 5, 2021). "Glenn Kirschner on Supporting Victims". Katharine Manning.com. Washington, DC. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  6. ^ ab"279 Students Graduate From Point Pleasant Boro High School". Asbury Park Press. Neptune, NJ. June 16, 1979. p. C2. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^Edwards, Bill (February 17, 1979). "Conference Mat Title 'Up for Grabs'". Asbury Park Press. Neptune, NJ. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^"S. J. Group 2". Courier-Post. Camden, NJ. December 1, 1978. p. 42. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^"Washington and Lee: Campus Leadership"(PDF). The Shield of Phi Kappa Psi. Indianapolis, IN: Executive Council of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. December 1981. p. 116. Archived(PDF) from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  10. ^"Glenn Kirschner 1984". Generals Sports. Lexington, VA: Washington and Lee University. 2009. Archived from the original on June 26, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  11. ^ abcdefghijkDarian, Sassan K. (October 6, 2018). "Exclusive Interview with Glenn Kirschner". Stand With Mueller.us. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  12. ^McLean, Georgia (February 3, 2021). "NDN Talks High Crimes w/Glenn Kirschner". NDN.org. Washington, DC: New Democrat Network.
  13. ^Del Quentin, Wilber (July 5, 2012). "An interview with federal-prosecutor-turned novelist Allison Leotta". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  14. ^"'Aspriring cop killer' gets 25 years to life for attack on D.C. officer". The Washington Post. August 26, 2023. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  15. ^"Court documents: Va.'s case against Jose Rodriguez-Cruz in 1989 death of estranged wife". WTOP News. April 8, 2020. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  16. ^Duggan, Paul (April 9, 2021). "Decades after his wife vanished, Virginia man is sentenced to 40 years in prison in her murder". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  17. ^"'Georgetown': Film Review | Tribeca 2019". The Hollywood Reporter. April 28, 2019. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  18. ^McNary, Dave (September 11, 2017). "Film News Roundup: Annette Bening to Star in Christoph Waltz's Directorial Debut 'Georgetown'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  19. ^Alexander, Keith. "50 years: That's what Albrecht Muth got in 2011 slaying of Georgetown socialite Viola Drath". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  20. ^"Georgetown - 2018 Archives". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  21. ^"Pres. Trump has a new legal strategy in Russia investigation". MSNBC. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  22. ^"Glenn Kirschner: Kamala Harris is the exact right pick for the time". The Stephanie Miller Show. August 12, 2020 – via YouTube.
  23. ^Kirschner, Glenn (September 10, 2020). "Woodward's Tapes, Trump's Covid Admissions & a Homicide Prosecutor's Take on Criminal Liability". Archived from the original on November 2, 2023 – via YouTube.
  24. ^Krawczyk, Kathryn (September 11, 2020). "Former federal prosecutor: Trump admitted to '2nd degree murder' in Woodward interview". The Week. New York, NY. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  25. ^"Glenn Kirschner". Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023 – via YouTube.
  26. ^"Brian Tyler Cohen". Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023 – via YouTube.
  27. ^"The Legal Breakdown w/ BTC & Glenn Kirschner". Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023 – via YouTube.
  28. ^"Trump will 'fold like a house of cards' to avoid prison: Kirschner". Newsweek. January 29, 2023. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
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