Donald Trump spent Thursday morning complaining about “unlimited presidential harassment” after House Democrats turbo-charged their investigations into his ties to Russia—and his supporters at Fox & Friends think they might have found the best way for petty revenge.
Brian Kilmeade, the most outspoken Fox & Friends host, urged the president to open frivolous investigations into the House Intelligence Committee’s Democratic Chairman Adam Schiff, saying excitedly as he hatched the plan: “Why not investigate them? There could be no reason.”
The first official business meeting of the new Congress on Wednesday saw the House panel—now under Democratic management—vote to re-establish an inquiry into Trump’s links to Russia. Schiff has been clear that he wants to dig deeper into financial questions about Trump and Russia.
But the move to revitalize the House probe has very clearly got under the skin of the president and his backers. Trump used his State of the Union address Tuesday to slam “ridiculous partisan investigations” and blew a gasket on Twitter on Thursday morning about Schiff “harassing” him.
“So now Congressman Adam Schiff announces, after having found zero Russian Collusion, that he is going to be looking at every aspect of my life, both financial and personal, even though there is no reason to be doing so,” wrote the president. “Never happened before!”
A second tweet read: “The Dems and their committees are going nuts. The Republicans never did this to President Obama, there would be no time left to run government. I hear other committee heads will do the same thing. Even stealing people who work at White House! A continuation of Witch Hunt!”
In a Fox & Friends segment with the show’s favorite legal mind, Judge Andrew Napolitano explained why Congress is allowed to open up an investigation into Trump—because it’s not a criminal investigation. “The Congress can investigate whatever it wants, and it can literally engage in a witch hunt whether there’s evidence there or not,” he said.
Cogs visibly turning in his mind, Kilmeade then said: “So why not investigate Adam Schiff? Why not investigate Maxine Waters? How did they become rich?... Why not investigate them? There could be no reason.”
Napolitano explained to Kilmeade that Democrats control Congress and won’t want to launch investigations into their own lawmakers. Kilmeade responded: “Does the president have an attorney? Why doesn’t the president just run a private investigation onto Adam Schiff?”
Napolitino said Trump would have to use the Department of Justice to investigate Schiff and that there “would have to be evidence of some criminal behavior,” with a disgusted Kilmeade replying: “That is so wrong.”
Trump’s propensity to make decisions after being swayed by his Fox & Friends has been well documented, but this idea might be a step too far.