Napolitano Spars With Hegseth Over Bolton Testimony: Impeachment Hearing ‘Is a Search for the Truth!’

Colby HallJan 7th, 2020, 8:26 am
 

Regular viewers of Fox & Friends tune in to see a remarkably united front in defense of President Donald Trump, but Tuesday morning was a bit different. As host Steve Doocy put it: “Disagreement here on the couch!”

At issue is the news, out Monday, that former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who was ousted last year,  has said he is open to testifying before Trump’s Senate impeachment trial.

Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano, who has become something of an ideological iconoclast among Fox News contributors, opened by noting that it “will be nearly impossible” for Senate Republicans to refuse to allow Bolton to testify. “This is the guy who was at the heartbeat of the president’s decisions” regarding holding up Congressionally-approved military aid to Ukraine and Trump’s request for a foreign state to investigate Joe Biden, Napolitano said.

Host Pete Hegseth, who is perhaps Trump’s most loyal defender on Fox & Friends, pushed back at Napolitano’s take, asking “why is it nearly impossible? House Democrats refuse to do any number of things because they control the process. Why would Republicans be compelled in this case?”

Napolitano shifted his commentary from his legal expertise to one of political insight, noting that the “political blowback” of the Senate GOP would be damaging to the Republicans. He then played out the following scenario: “Prosecutors will say ‘we call John Bolton,’ the Republicans are going to overrule the Chief Justice because they are afraid of what John Bolton would say? That would be tremendous blowback.”

Hegseth responded that Senate Republicans “have a majority! They can call him if they want to!”

Napolitano offered instead that “this is a search for the truth! And if John Bolton has information…”

Hegseth interrupted “You think Democrats in the House are searching for the truth?”

Napolitano: “No, the trial is a search for the truth. The impeachment is totally political.”

Watch above via Fox News.

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Colby Hall - Founding Editor

Colby Hall is the Founding Editor of Mediaite.com. He is also a Peabody Award-winning television producer of non-fiction narrative programming as well as a terrific dancer and preparer of grilled meats.