Fox News presented Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) with a friendly platform to continue attacking Attorney General Eric Holder, selectively cropping footage of the men's altercation during a House Judiciary Committee hearing to absolve the congressman of blame. 

Sparks flew at a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing when Gohmert accused Holder of indifference about previously being held in contempt by the House over the Fast & Furious gun operation. Holder responded that Gohmert “didn't want to go there” and explained that while the House contempt vote was “inappropriate,” he took it seriously.

Fox ran defense for the Republican congressman during the April 9 segment of Fox & Friends, misrepresenting Gohmert's remarks that led to the exchange and selectively edited clips of the hearing to omit Gohmert's initial comments and the bulk of Holder's response. 

Rather than admitting Gohmert's accusation towards Holder, co-host Brian Kilmeade simply claimed, “Texas congressman Louie Gohmert struck a nerve, obviously, when he referenced pending contempt charges against Attorney General Eric Holder. Watch.”

When Gohmert joined the program to continue attacking Holder, Kilmeade propped up the congressman's claims: “Basically, the attorney general is able to say 'get away, leave me alone,' and get away with it.”

The full video of the hearing reveals that Gohmert accused the DOJ of giving documents to terrorist front groups before lobbing personal attacks at Holder, prompting Holder to respond that the contempt vote was “inappropriate” and “all about the gun lobby”:

HOLDER: I think that what we promised to do is to provide you and your staff with --

GOHMERT: Sir, I've read you what your department promised and it is inadequate, and I realize that contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general, but it is important that we have proper oversight, so--

HOLDER:  You don't want to go there, ok?

GOHMERT: I don't want to go there?

HOLDER: No.

GOHMERT: About the contempt?

HOLDER: You should not assume that that is not a big deal to me. I think that it was inappropriate, I think it was unjust. But never think that was not a big deal to me. Don't ever think that.

GOHMERT: Well, I'm just looking for evidence, and normally we're known by our fruits, and there have been no indications that it was a big deal because your department has still not been forthcoming in producing the documents that were the subject of the contempt. Let me move on -

[CROSSTALK]

HOLDER: The documents that we were prepared to make available then, we are prepared to make available now. That would have obviated the whole need. This was all about the gun lobby. And a desire to have --

This isn't the first time Fox News has dishonestly framed a segment in order to attack the attorney general: the network has a long history of distorting the truth around Holder's statements to baselessly attack him.

This post has been updated for accuracy.