Fox News Anchor Claims Trump Broke the Law in Real-Time

Fox News anchor Bret Baier suggested President Trump broke the law in real-time Friday when Trump tweeted attacks at ex-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch during her public testimony before the Intelligence Committee.

Baier joined other journalists, Democrats, and a few Republicans in suggesting the president’s tweets amount to witness tampering. (The Week)
 

Republicans’ first aim in Friday’s impeachment hearing was to avoid attacking Yovanovitch so she didn’t earn any more sympathy points from viewers. But Trump destroyed that strategy with one fell tweet, claiming “everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad,” naming her work in Somalia and then Ukraine as examples. House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) had Yovanovitch address the tweet, or “witness intimidation,” as he called it, and Yovanovitch agreed it was “very intimidating.”

Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2019

In his live analysis for the Times, Schmidt concurred. “How are Trump’s tweets not witness tampering? She’s testifying. He’s attacking her. And now she has to respond to it,” he wrote. And, more surprisingly, Baier seemed to take Yovanovitch’s side as well.

That was a turning point in this hearing so far. She was already a sympathetic witness & the President’s tweet ripping her allowed Schiff to point it out real time characterizing it as witness tampering or intimidation -adding an article of impeachment real-time. https://t.co/HSCkGMIqmH

— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) November 15, 2019

A senior GOP source added to Baier’s speculation, telling Fox News correspondent Chad Pergram “we didn’t need that.” And Ken Starr, famously the author of the report that led to former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, appeared on the network to condemn Trump for his “quite injurious” move, saying “sometimes, we have to control our instincts.”

Other Republicans and conservatives played off the accusation of witness tampering as laughable:
 

This may be the single most ridiculous claim of the Dem show trial. No, the President’s tweeting is not “witness intimidation.” You may not like the tone of some or even many of his tweets, but it’s absurd to suggest that tweeting is an impeachable “high Crime [or] Misdemeanor.” https://t.co/afuu4OWUb3

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 15, 2019

2. Furthermore, it clearly hasn’t changed the fact that the witness is testifying willingly and sticking to her script.

— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) November 15, 2019

As for Trump’s tweet, to call it witness intimidation is laughable. People can say whatever they want about Trump and he can’t say what he thinks? The witness has every right to speak her mind and he can speak his. If witnesses are so intimidated, why do they keep showing up?

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) November 15, 2019

Democrats bemoaning the lack of explanation for Ambassador Yovanovitch’s dismissal. The President is TRYING to explain the reason behind the reason behind his constitutionally sanctioned action on Twitter, & it’s called “witness intimidation.” He can’t win with these Democrats. pic.twitter.com/f8otyfw0Wr

— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) November 15, 2019

AAN Staff

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