MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Monday blasted President Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, for claiming the president could shoot former FBI Director James Comey in the Oval Office and not be indicted, saying it’s a talking point tyrants use.

Scarborough said on “Morning Joe” that the former New York City mayor’s claim was “literally out of a tyrant’s playbook.” 

“You pick the president’s sworn political enemy and then you put it out there about the shooting of him,” Scarborough said.

{mosads}“And you let the president’s followers know that: Vladimir Putin could shoot his political rival and not be thrown in jail; [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan could do the same thing,” he added, referring to leaders in Russia and Turkey. 

“Except this is in America,” Scarborough continued.

“What if Barack Obama had said in 2009, 2010 or let’s say Eric Holder here, what if Eric Holder had said, you know what Barack Obama could shoot Rush Limbaugh and he can’t be indicted,” Scarborough said. “Barack Obama could shoot George W. Bush and he couldn’t be indicted. The reaction from Republicans and the media would be just mind boggling.”

Giuliani told HuffPost over the weekend that even if Trump had shot Comey, he still couldn’t be indicted.

“In no case can he be subpoenaed or indicted,” Giuliani told the news outlet. “I don’t know how you can indict while he’s in office. No matter what it is.” 

“If he shot James Comey, he’d be impeached the next day,” Giuliani said. “Impeach him, and then you can do whatever you want to do to him.”

The New York Times obtained a letter over the weekend from Trump’s legal team to the special counsel’s office that argued that the Constitution gives the president the broad authority to, “if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon.” 

The Times was the first to report on the existence of the letter, although the president appeared to foreshadow the newspaper’s scoop minutes before it was published on Saturday. Trump questioned whether Mueller’s office or the Justice Department had leaked his legal team’s letter to the media. 

“There was No Collusion with Russia (except by the Democrats),” Trump tweeted shortly before the Times story was published.

“When will this very expensive Witch Hunt Hoax ever end? So bad for our Country. Is the Special Counsel/Justice Department leaking my lawyers letters to the Fake News Media? Should be looking at Dems corruption instead?”

There was No Collusion with Russia (except by the Democrats). When will this very expensive Witch Hunt Hoax ever end? So bad for our Country. Is the Special Counsel/Justice Department leaking my lawyers letters to the Fake News Media? Should be looking at Dems corruption instead?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2018