Watch Fox News' unhinged reaction to Donald Trump being fined $355 million in civil fraud trial
Ari Fleischer: “When the Democrats go to these kinds of resorts to get somebody they don't like, we all lose faith in the system.”
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From the February 16, 2024, edition of Fox News' The Story with Martha MacCallum
MARTHA MACCALLUM (FOX NEWS ANCHOR): So $354, really $355, $355 million here in the judgment from Arthur Engoron against the former president, Donald Trump. Ari, what is your reaction to all this?
ARI FLEISCHER (FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR): Martha, I just have a hard time seeing any of the court cases, including this one, as anything other than a continuation of the resistance that began when Donald Trump was elected president and instantly protesters took to the streets of Fifth Avenue against Donald Trump. To me, when you look at all of these cases, the one thing they keep having in common is they're being brought against the former president in the bluest of blue counties across the United States of America. Because if they were brought in a purple county, let alone a red county, they would have no chance of success whether it was a jury or a judge rendering a verdict.
I just think this is a continuation of the nastiness that law has turned into to serve the political ends as Letitia James as you pointed out, the attorney general of New York, campaigned on getting Donald Trump.
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MACCALLUM: Every time I see that, Shannon, it's pretty shocking behavior from someone who wants to be an attorney general.
SHANNON BREAM (FOX NEWS ANCHOR): Yeah, and the line she has about nobody is above the law, his folks will say nobody is below it either. You cannot simply use the law as a cudgel and go after somebody in a way that appears political. This lends credence to the argument that President Trump makes over and over that it's not just a prosecution, these are persecutions, and his base is going to rally to that every time this happens.
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FLEISCHER: All of this is why I put this in the political category, not a legal category. It's one of the reasons the norms have broken down in this country. Because when the Democrats go to these kinds of resorts to get somebody they don't like, we all lose faith in the system. It's the same thing as two impeachments that violated the rules of the House. It's all just to get the man they don't want. And the perverse result of it is they're gonna get the man they don't want.
As a result of all these prosecutions, Donald Trump leapfrogged in the Republican nomination. If they had really wanted to get rid of Trump, they wouldn't have prosecuted him, and then Ron DeSantis may have actually had a chance back in January of 2023. But these indictments led to the rallying of the base because it made people question justice, which has been a four-year pattern when Donald Trump was president. So it's the most foolish thing the Democrats could do unless they want Donald Trump to return to power.