Steve Doocy Calmly Explains to Rand Paul How GOP Attacks on FBI Could Lead to More Violence
Fox News’ Steve Doocy took it upon himself to explain to Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) how political invectives against the FBI can eventually incite actual violence against federal law enforcement.
Paul and Doocy spoke to each other on Thursday when the senator joined Fox & Friends to discuss the upcoming hearing on whether to unseal the affidavit authorizing the FBI’s search through Mar-a-Lago. The senator argued in favor of unsealing it, saying “we need confidence in the FBI, we need to have confidence in our intelligence agencies that they are there to protect us and not to go after people for political purposes.”
“So the burden is on them to prove this is not a politically motivated witch hunt,” Paul said.
Doocy, who has been firmly opposed to political attacks against the FBI ever since the raid, followed up by noting how former Vice President Mike Pence has called on Republicans to stop their vitriolic slights against the bureau. Paul responded by slamming the FBI over its past conduct regarding former President Donald Trump, and he leveled numerous criticisms against Trump-appointed FBI Director Christopher Wray.
“I’m going to require proof that there was actually some sort of probable cause of a crime,” Paul said, “and I’m suspicious that there was not.”
The Mar-a-Lago raid has been a source of political tension throughout the country ever since the FBI conducted the search of Trump’s estate, confiscating several boxes of classified materials that Trump previously claimed he did not possess.
Doocy warned Paul that the vitriolic rhetoric toward federal law enforcement since the incident could lead to a real threat of violence:
Absolutely Congress has oversight over the FBI and the Department of Justice and everything else. The problem is over the last week or so there has been so much violent rhetoric directed at the FBI, and I heard somebody printed FBI stands for ‘Fascist Bureau of Investigation‘ or something like that. Unfortunately now, the people who work at the FBI headquarters, there are death threats and all sorts of stuff.
I heard from a staff member there, who was talking to a colleague at the FBI, and the colleague realized “Oh, look! I’m wearing the wrong shoes today to work,” because if somebody attacks the building and I’ve got to run, I can’t run in these heels. So unfortunately, people at the FBI are caught in the crosshairs.
Doocy may have been referencing the fact that an FBI office in Cincinnati came under attack by a Trump supporter last week. Rand responded by saying threats to the FBI are “inappropriate,” but he went on by complaining about Democrats and talking about his own death threats.
“They’re not the only one getting threats,” he said. “I’ve had probably over 50 threats this year. Sometimes I can have a dozen in a week.”
Doocy acknowledged Paul’s point by recalling when the senator was attacked by a neighbor in 2017.
Watch above, via Fox News.
