While Fox News pundits clutched their pearls with selective outrage over the FBI use of force in arresting Roger Stone, somebody at Fox News posted large graphics on the screen telling viewers that the FBI did nothing unusual with its early-morning raid on Stone’s house.
In keeping with its war on the Mueller investigation, Fox has been whining about the Stone arrest. Yet, as Vox noted, such behavior is part of “a pattern of the president and his allies being outraged by how the criminal justice system works when it affects Trump’s friends — and notably silent or even downright encouraging of aggressive law enforcement action aimed at others.”
On Saturday’s Cavuto Live show, host Neil Cavuto reiterated Stone’s talking point that the FBI used more force than was used to take down Osama bin Laden. However, Cavuto made it his own: “I'm thinking to myself, 'Self, this was more people than we used to take down Osama Bin Laden.'"
Cavuto brought on “brilliant former federal prosecutor” and current defense attorney Jon Sale to discuss what Cavuto said “just seems to me to be overkill” by the FBI. “Is that procedure?” Cavuto asked.
"Of course it was excessive," Sale said. "This is a man [Stone] who knew about the investigation for a couple of years who - the fact that he was released on a bond, only on a signature, agreed to by the special counsel's office, so they conceded he was not a flight risk, he was not a danger."
Sale said he has not been a critic of the special prosecutor but that the “poor judgment” used by the FBI “emboldens their critics.” "Should there have been a raid in the first place?” Sale asked, rhetorically. “And the answer here is clearly no."
But as Sale spoke, a large graphic on the right stated, “IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR THE FBI TO MAKE EARLY-MORNING ARRESTS OF TARGETS UNDER INDICTMENT.”
Cavuto mentioned that there were concerns that evidence might have been destroyed if the FBI had not raided Stone’s home during his arrest. “But this seemed disproportionate,” Cavuto added.
Now a graphic appeared that stated, “MUELLER’S OFFICE WAS CONCERNED THAT STONE WOULD DESTROY EVIDENCE IF HE WAS GIVEN A CHANCE TO SURRENDER.”
Sale suggested they should have treated Stone the way Michael Cohen was treated. “They could've done some kind of a search warrant, taken what they needed, and then given him a notice to appear," Sale said.
"They should not do stuff like this when it's highly excessive, inappropriate, and it's very scary too, and it discredits the whole investigation," Sale continued.
Watch Fox contradict itself below, from the February 2, 2019 Cavuto Live.
Extra caution is always taken where the suspect has previously been violent or made threats of violence (“Prepare to die, Credico”). In this case it was unknown whether the ‘Proud Boys’ (Stone’s new pals) would be present at the scene.
