Fox News does not stand by its senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano, who Donald Trump cited on Friday as the reason why he tweeted unverified claims that former President Obama wiretapped Trump Tower.
Fox News host Shepard Smith made the following statement shortly after Trump’s comments on Friday: “Fox News cannot confirm Judge Napolitano’s commentary. Fox News knows of no evidence of any kind that the now President of the United States was surveilled at any time, in any way, full stop.”
During Friday’s joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump was asked about his series on tweets in which he accused Obama of wiretapping.
“We said nothing,” Trump said. “All we did was quote a certain very talented legal mind, who was the one responsible for saying that on television. I didn’t make an opinion on it. That was a statement made by a very talented lawyer on Fox.”
He continued: “You shouldn’t be talking to me, you should be talking to Fox.”
Judge Napolitano went on “Fox & Friends” a few weeks ago and said that “three intelligence sources have informed Fox News that President Obama went outside the chain of command” to spy on Trump during last year’s election.
Smith also said, “The FBI Director James Comey could soon provide some definitive answers on this matter and potential Russia links to the Trump campaign. Comey has so far avoided publicly commenting on the issues but on Monday he will appear before the House Intelligence Committee for an open hearing, or that’s the schedule. Fox News Channel will carry it live.”
Trump, who regularly bashes CNN while praising Fox News, often tweets information shortly after it appears on “Fox & Friends.” Last month, Twitter went wild after media watchdogs called the president out for tweeting “Fox & Friends” statistics minutes after the news program aired.