Tucker Carlson attacks Fox colleague Shep Smith, says Smith’s program is partisan opinion, “not news”
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From the September 25 edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight
TUCKER CARLSON (HOST): I want for our viewers who are not familiar with what exactly happened to know, so, here is a quick update. So, yesterday, Judge Andrew Napolitano, who is a legal analyst at Fox and a very nice guy, I will say, I've always liked him -- went on one of our daytime shows and declared that the president's phone call with the head of Ukraine was a crime. Here's what he said.
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So that definitely got our attention. Of course, it's a crime. And so I asked you because you prosecuted a lot of crimes and for our viewers that didn't see it, here's what you said.
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Well, apparently our daytime host who hosted Judge Napolitano was watching last night and was outraged by what you said and quite ironically called you partisan. Here's what he said.
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“Repugnant." Not clear if that was you or me, but someone is repugnant. And here is what, finally, last soundbite, here is how Judge Napolitano responded.
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Now, unlike maybe some dayside hosts I’m not very partisan and it was a sincere question: “Is it a crime or not?” So given everything that has happened in the last 24 hours I just want to throw it to you again. Was it a crime or not?
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JOE DIGENOVA: I have been an U.S. attorney, an independent counsel and investigative counsel on Capitol Hill in the House and the Senate. Judge Napolitano has never been a U.S. attorney. He has never been a federal prosecutor. He has never conducted a federal grand jury. I have done all of those things.
I -- if he wants to have an opinion, that's fine. I am not a paid Fox contributor. I am a guest of Fox network. I come on when they ask me.
So -- and I am told, please, whatever you do, tell the truth, don't make things up. Don't cover -- so, what I say, I believe, and of course as a matter of law I know what I'm talking about in the law, I try to be truthful. I was very truthful last night.
CARLSON: Well, so, that's kind of the crux of it for me. I'm not a lawyer at all, I was as far from a scholar as you could be -- that's why I solicited your opinion.
But I also know that some things are subjective and people of good will have differing views, and so that's why it doesn't seem honest to me when a host, any host on any channel, including this one, pretends that the answer is obvious, there is ironclad consensus about what the answer is when there, in fact, isn't, when it's a subjective question.
That's not news, is it? That's opinion.
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CARLSON: Why do we find ourselves in a situation where people aren't willing to admit that their passions are guiding their news coverage. You know, just say -- wouldn't it be better if we just said out loud, you know, “This is what I think." I'll just say, for example, you'll never hear me criticize Rachel Maddow. I don't agree with anything she says, but she's very straightforward about it. It's her opinion. Why wouldn't it be better if we all were that transparent about what's driving our shows.
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CARLSON: When you dress up news coverage -- when you dress up, rather, partisanship as news coverage and pretend that, you know, your angry political opinion are news, you know, people tune out.
DIGENOVA: They do.
CARLSON: They know dishonesty when they see it.