A long-time supporter of Dinesh D'Souza, Megyn Kelly hosted the right-wing media darling after he pleaded guilty to campaign finance fraud to resuscitate the myth that his indictment was political payback. 

D'Souza, who rose to right-wing media darling status after producing an anti-Barack Obama film rife with lies and outlandish claims, was indicted by federal prosecutors in January, charged with violating campaign finance laws by “arranging excessive campaign contributions to a candidate for the U.S. Senate,” and allegedly reimbursing “people who he had directed to contribute $20,000” to the unnamed candidate.

D'Souza initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, and right-wing media rushed to his aid, claiming D'Souza was targeted for prosecution because he is a critic of the Obama administration.

After D'Souza's initial indictment, Fox host Megyn Kelly provided D'Souza a platform to push the myth that his indictment was political retribution. Kelly said the charges raised “red flags for some because D'Souza, who has pleaded not guilty, is behind the box office hit 2016: Obama's America, a film that is very critical of the president.” D'Souza responded that he couldn't speak about the case specifically, but that he knows “for a fact” that Obama was personally unnerved by his film and said, “I am a public critic of the president, and I do recognize this has made me, to some degree, vulnerable to some forms of counter-attack.”

Then, on May 20 D'Souza pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and making false statements, and will be sentenced in September, facing up to two years in prison.

And still, Megyn Kelly continued to champion D'Souza, hosting him that evening to keep alive the myth that D'Souza's indictment was political retribution. Kelly asked D'Souza whether his guilty plea was what the Obama administration “wanted all along,” and highlighted people who claimed that the prosecution was political, asking “is this about Dinesh D'Souza or is this about upholding campaign finance laws?” During the interview, Kelly again hid the fact that Fox News had aggressively pushed the myth that D'Souza's indictment was political payback for his criticism of Obama:

Megyn Kelly was not the only Fox host to claim the charges were politically motivated, a narrative D'Souza reportedly admitted was deliberately intended to “get his story out there.”