Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy flipped the script on Thursday morning, pushing back on House Minority Whip Steve Scalise’s wild suggestion that FBI agents went “rogue” in executing a court-approved search warrant at former President Donald Trump’s residence.
Doocy further took issue with the immediate “rush to judgment” made by Scalise and other conservatives, asking if they could at least “wait a week” before determining that the FBI is “crazy.”
Fox News has engaged in a full-scale meltdown since Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by FBI agents on Monday, reportedly because investigators were tipped off that Trump was hiding classified documents on the property. The network—in effect, proving wrong the narrative that it was distancing itself from the ex-president—has since peddled baseless conspiracy theories and unhinged rhetoric to boost Trump’s claims that the Justice Department has been “weaponized” against him and conservatives.
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In recent days, the irresponsible speculation and dangerous incitement on the network have ramped up to extreme levels. Several Fox hosts and guests, for instance, have pushed the fabricated allegation that the FBI “planted evidence” in materials they took from Trump’s home. Additionally, the channel’s stars have stoked outrage over the judge who signed the warrant, who has received threats on his life from far-right extremists.
While Doocy’s Fox & Friends colleagues have helped fuel the network’s round-the-clock rage-fest on the Trump raid, Doocy took a remarkably different tack on Thursday morning while interviewing Scalise.
After the Republican lawmaker said the DOJ must be held “accountable” because the department wants “to trample over the Constitution,” Doocy noted that field agents are now receiving death threats amid the over-the-top rhetoric coming from the right. He also pointed out that many Republicans have been calling for the dismantling and defunding of the FBI. (A talking point that has been picked up by Fox News.)
“I’m just curious whatever happened to the Republican Party backing the blue? And, in particular, the [35,000] members of law enforcement, federal law enforcement, at the FBI?” Doocy pressed the ultra-conservative congressman.
“Frankly, we are very strong supporters of law enforcement, and it concerns everybody if you see some agents go rogue,” Scalise responded. “If you see an agent that doesn’t have the right checks and balances at the top. This is coming from the top.”
Doocy firmly interjected: “Who went rogue, Steve? Who went rogue? They were following a search warrant!”
The Republican leader insisted they “want to find that out,” adding that is “why we are asking these questions.” He went on to say that Attorney General Merrick Garland needs to hold a press conference about the search warrant, despite the DOJ’s longstanding policy of not commenting on active investigations.
“I think that is deafening right now, that silence,” Scalise said.
Referencing the recent seizure of Rep. Scott Perry’s cell phone in relation to the Jan. 6 investigation and the proposed addition of 87,000 IRS agents, Scalise then lamented that the Biden administration is “weaponizing other agencies,” prompting Doocy to push back yet again.
“Steve, why not wait a week or so until we know more about this search warrant than immediately rush to judgment and say, ‘The FBI, they’re crazy,’” the veteran Fox News host pleaded.
Scalise, of course, insisted he and other Republicans are merely “asking questions that the FBI is not answering.”
Doocy, for his part, has on occasion served as the surprising voice of reason on the curvy couch, especially when Trumpworld and his colleagues appear to get over their skis in their latest outrage.
In the past, for example, the Fox & Friends mainstay has urged Trump to stop talking about Hunter Biden, debunked the bogus Dominion voter fraud conspiracy, and called for the then-president to wear a mask during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
