Sarah Wasko / Media Matters
In a mid-morning tweet, President Donald Trump promoted Fox News analyst Gregg Jarrett’s upcoming book, The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump. Jarrett, who joined Fox News in 2002, is an frequent shill for the president, especially on all matters related to the Russia investigation, and a favorite of Trump propagandist Sean Hannity. The president’s interest in Jarrett’s new book, which he tweeted is “a must read,” is hardly unexpected given Jarrett’s constant, and often legally dubious, explanations for why the Trump team’s actions are legally acceptable and why Trump’s opponents, especially those in the intelligence community, are the real lawbreakers.
Jarrett’s willingness to shill for the president appears boundless, and his sycophancy has checked all the boxes to earn a coveted spot in a Trump tweet:
- Jarrett has repeatedly claimed that even if the president or his team colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election, they wouldn’t have broken any laws. During an appearance on Hannity, the Fox analyst went so far as to argue that, because “the Constitution gives us the freedom to freely associate with anybody, including Russians,” “Vladimir Putin, former KGB, could have sat in on that [Donald Trump Jr.] meeting and it wouldn't be a crime.” In another appearance, he said, “It was always a myth that collusion in a political campaign is a crime.” Jarrett also claimed, “Even conspiring to subvert the government doesn't rise to the level of treason.”
- He has defended the idea that the president might fire special counsel Robert Mueller and called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “un-recuse” himself and fire the entire special counsel team.
- He frequently slanders special counsel Mueller, whom he once accused of sticking “up his middle finger at the justice system.” He aims similar jabs at others who find themselves in the president’s bad graces, such as Sessions and FBI Deputy Director Rod Rosenstein, whom Jarrett described as part of a Justice Department “cartel,” calling it “the equivalent of the mob.”
- Jarrett frequently attempts to undermine the credibility of Mueller's investigation and its process, including by claiming that Mueller has conflicts of interest and thus should resign his post.
- He has argued that former President Barack Obama should be subpoenaed.
In addition to his pro-Trump shilling, Jarrett has frequently spewed misinformation and made cruel, belittling comments on air:
- Jarrett criticized New York Mets player Daniel Murphy for taking two days of paternity leave when his son was born. Jarrett said that Murphy “is rich. He could have like 20 nannies taking care of his tired wife, and he's got to take off two days? It's absurd. It's preposterous.”
- Jarrett said that he didn’t “mean to be sexist” but still suggested that a female judge could be biased against a male defendant who cheated on his girlfriend.
- Jarrett suggested that family members of those killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting were pressing for tougher gun control regulations because Obama was “engineering them for political purposes” and “outright manipulating them into taking a stand on a vital constitutional right.”