Fox News host Greg Gutfeld snapped at a fellow “The Five” panelist who suggested that former President Donald Trump deserves all four of his indictments.
A grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, handed down an indictment to Trump and 18 others over their alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. “The Five” co-host Harold Ford Jr. said Tuesday that Trump is not immune from criminal charges just because he is running for president, and argued the indictments are justified from a legal standpoint.
“You don’t think this is totally over the top? As a judge, four? I mean, even when — everything you say makes sense except it’s all bullshit! It’s all nonstop, we know this is designed to banish an isolated, destroy a political outsider who predicted this. Chuck Schumer, remember this?” Gutfeld said. “Don’t mess with the intel agencies. They’ll arrest your team and keep it off the field.”
“Do you not think he’s done anything?” Ford asked.
“He is probably one of the most troubling, consequential figures in history, but no. He doesn’t deserve any of this,” Gutfeld said. (RELATED: Juan Williams, Martha MacCallum Get Into Near Shouting Match Over Trump Indictment, Hunter Biden)
Judge Jeanine Pirro added the indictments were not handed down until after Trump’s presidential campaign announcement in November. Ford said if Trump had not been indicted immediately, the prosecutors would have been accused of not doing a thorough investigation.
“Oh, baloney!” Pirro responded. “It doesn’t take two and a half years to get indicted!”
Co-host Dana Perino immediately attempted to mediate the tension by saying Trump’s indictments were going to be criticized no matter the timing.
Some conservatives have criticized all four of Trump’s indictments for taking place during Trump’s candidacy, in which he is currently the Republican frontrunner, and for the substance of the charges. Fox News contributor and law professor Jonathan Turley told “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday that he finds the indictment in Georgia to be “troubling” because challenging election results is not a crime.
Some of the charges handed to Trump and his associates include Georgia’s “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations” (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree and conspiracy to commit false statements and writings.
Trump faces additional charges based out of New York and Washington, D.C. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg handed Trump a 34-count indictment charging the former president with falsifying business records to pay $130,000 in hush money to former porn actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.
Special Counsel Jack Smith handed two separate indictments to Trump in relation to storing 15 boxes of classified documents in his private Mar-a-Lago residence and for allegedly engaging in conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election on January 6, 2021.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges listed in the first three indictments during his arraignments.