The JFP Interview with Mike Espy
September 19 - October 2, 2018 • jfp.ms
You showed me an NRA award you got in 1988 and said your views on gun rights have changed since then. From ‘71 to ‘75, I was a member of the NRA because I was using their rifle range (as a student at Howard University in Washington, D.C.). When I ran for Congress, there was an opportunity to get their endorsement. I looked at their code and what they believed in and what I believed in, and I decided to renew my membership in 1986. That’s because I believe in the Second Amendment—I did then and I do now. I’m not running away from that, but things have changed. You know how Republicans who were Democrats say, “I didn’t leave the party; the party left me”? I can just say, “I didn’t leave the NRA; the NRA left me.” Because now they’re really right wing. I believe that anyone who has been declared a danger to himself or others should not own a firearm at all. I don’t mind assault weapons being sold, but I don’t think anyone should own them unless they’re 21 years of age. I think we should have enough technology to outfit every school if it comes to that to detect firearms if they come in the school. That’s the farthest I’m going to go. I do not believe teachers need to be armed. I am sobered about the number of school shootings. I got the Silver Rifle in 1988 because my voting record was almost 100 percent. I still have firearms in the my house right now. I’m less of a hunter than I am a fisher, but I taught my son and my wife how to shoot at a fire range here in Jackson, so if you come to my house with an evil intent, you’re 18 going to get a big surprise.
“I didn’t leave the NRA; the NRA left me.”
There’s a push for a voter initiative in Mississippi on medical marijuana for 2020. What’s your position? I’d be open to reviewing the statistics. The main thing for me is, is it safe? Is it a revenue enhancer? We need more revenue in Mississippi. So just like legalized betting, I’d be open to reviewing the facts and the economic estimates of what that would AShton Pittman
What about millennial voters? I’ve got gray hair, so I’ve got to surround myself with millennials. They’ve got to give me advice and knowledge and show me the best way to inform them and excite them. And I think the best way to excite them is to tell them what I can do for them—such as how I can help eliminate their student debt. The second thing to do is to make sure that when they graduate schools ,there are jobs available. We can work with state officials to make sure two-year technical schools are free or very low cost. So we just have to make sure we sit down with them on a peer-to-peer basis. They call them the “me generation,” and so we’ve got to sit down with them to show what we can do to make sure their “me” is a better “me.”
from page 16
U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Mike Espy’s office contains memorabilia that means something to him, including this photo of his father, Henry Espy Sr.
Explain your abortion stance. I’ll say it this way: I’m anti-abortion, but I’m pro-choice. My daughter has one child, my only grandson. I’ve got three grandchildren, but only one grandson. She’s my only daughter. I’m glad she had the baby. But if there was an issue at the time, and she had called me for counseling, I would have counseled her to have the baby. But at the same time, it’s her choice not to. That’s her legal choice.
bring to the state’s coffers. So I would never tell you no to either one of them. If we did it, maybe medical marijuana first. But there are a lot of studies out there about how if you are under the influence it still impairs your ability. I would just have to know if it was safe and if it was a financial benefit to the state. Talk about the investigation and your trial in the ’90s.
I refused all plea bargains because I was innocent. I plead not guilty when the judge asked me, and I was proven not guilty by the jury. I followed American jurisprudence. I was a defendant in a lawsuit. And they put up 70 witnesses against me. If you read the history, I put up any in my own defense. Why? Because I was not guilty. I wanted to be so demonstrably not guilty that the jury would see the whole thing was silly—and they did. After I was acquitted, there were two jurors who made statements publicly, and one said it was the most bogus thing she’d ever seen, because the prosecution could not connect the dots, because there were no dots to connect. Another juror said it was all a waste of time. It took four years—not because of anything I did, but because of the process the independent counsel had to follow. Every piece of paper they asked me for I gave to them. They could not find—after four years of investigation—where I gave any favors to any companies I regulated. They couldn’t find any because there weren’t any. About a month before trial, the prosecutor told me that if I would plead guilty they would go from 36 counts to one count. And I said, ‘No, I’m not guilty.’ About a week before trial, they said, “OK, OK, we’ll go from 36 to one, and you can choose your prison.” They said they’d recommend a prison in Florida or wherever. And I told them, “No, I don’t play golf like that.” Now, if (opponents) want to raise all this again, they can, but I can only say this: It doesn’t matter what they call you; it only matters what you answer to. I answer to exonerated. I answer to someone who sat four years through that, and I believe I’m stronger, I’m wiser, and I’m more faithful, because I believe in God, I believe in the Lord, I believe that through me he’s working his will, and if it’s his will, I’m going to win this race. What parts of Senator Cochran’s legacy do you hope to continue in the Senate? Calm demeanor. Professional disposition. Extensive knowledge. Friend of those even in the other party. And not a demagogue. All of that about him is also me. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Comment at jfp.ms/2018elections. Follow Ashton Pittman on Twitter @ashtonpittman. Email him story ideas to ashton@ jacksonfreepress.com. Elections for Mississippi’s U.S. Senate seats are Nov. 6. In the special election for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s seat, if no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the election goes to a runoff. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.