Fox gives Napolitano's Truther tendencies a pass

Not only has Fox News not addressed Andrew Napolitano's emergence as a Truther, the network has continued to host him. This morning, he was on Fox & Friends, a show that regularly rails against 9/11 Truthers. Did they have anything to say to Judge Nap about his Truther-ness? Nope.

Napolitano was on to argue that the First Amendment would protect Wikileaks founder Julian Assaugne from prosecution in the United States. Unlike their treatment of other Truthers who have visited their sets or whose names have crossed their newswires, Fox & Friends gave Napolitano a pass on his revelation that he believes the government is lying about the September 11 attacks. Indeed, they didn't mention it at all.

Compare that to the exchange co-host Brian Kilmeade--who used to also co-host a radio show with Napolitano--had with former Governor Jesse Ventura over the issue. Ventura also asks “questions” about the government's story about what happened on 9/11. Kilmeade challenged him for making up “scandals that says that 9/11 was an inside job.” The two got into quite the argument over this issue, which culminated in Kilmeade walking off the set, under the guise that he had to go host his radio show.

Or how about a few months ago, when the hosts eviscerated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for ranting about 9/11 being an “inside job” while addressing the UN in September? Gretchen Carlson declared, “It really doesn't matter where you state that statement, quite frankly. I mean, you could say that in Des Moines, Iowa and it'd still be offensive. There really is no relationship.”

Or in February of last year, when they hosted Red Eye host Greg Gutfeld, who ranted against a television show's decision to devote an episode to the 9/11 Truther conspiracy theory.

Apparently, FX's Rescue Me--a show about NYC firefighter--had a character who endorsed the conspiracy, as did the actor who played the role. Gutfeld was incensed:

GUTFELD: What angers me about it is that people are treating this with respect. The New York Times wrote a piece about it. They interviewed the producer. The producer described the actor--the actor believes this stuff--that the actor is very well read and very passionate about it. They say this about conspiratorialists all the time. But they never say that these people are idiots; they're mentally ill; they shouldn't be treated with respect. It's an insult to people who were victims of 9/11 and their families. It's an insult to firefighters! I am surprised that they're doing this.

He went on to say, “People are too scared to confront 9/11 conspiracies because it's like the crazy guy on the subway. You don't want to make eye contact. But sooner or later you've gotta make eye contact and tell that guy to get lost.” The Fox & Friends hosts agreed with his every word.

Watch:

So why is Napolitano getting a pass?

As Media Matters has noted, Fox has yet to say a peep about Napolitano's revelation. He's continued to host his show without addressing the issue and has appeared on other Fox News programs without being questioned about it. 9/11 families have criticized Napolitano's comments. Even the right-wing blogosphere is condemning him. Why the silence, Fox News? What are you afraid of?