The hosts of Fox News' Outnumbered program on Tuesday lashed out at ABC White House correspondent Jonathan Karl after he asked President Donald Trump about the possibility of granting a pardon to embattled Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
On Tuesday's edition of Outnumbered, host Harris Faulkner noted that Trump had called Karl's question "stupid" after he asked if the president would consider pardoning Cohen, who is reportedly under investigation for crimes related to non-disclosure agreements he negotiated to prevent Trump's alleged mistresses from telling their stories.
"It is ticking me off that these reporters -- [CNN's] Jim Acosta and this guy from ABC -- they continue -- first of all, his attorney hasn't even been charged," Outnumbered guest host Lawrence Jones of Campus reform opined. "There has been no evidence of wrongdoing at this point and there's not a conviction and you're asking if the president is going to pardon him. I mean, that is just sickening."
"This is what's ticking off Americans," he added. "Look, I try to be fair with the press, but they are literally carrying the water of the Democratic Party at this point. This is the same talking point that the Democrats are using right now and I don't get how you can still call yourself a journalist and the American people care nothing about this."
After liberal co-host Jessica Tarlov argued that questions about Cohen are legitimate, the other hosts on the panel reacted with outrage.
"That's part of the problem," co-host Kennedy Montgomery shot back. "We're taking these disparate elements and trying to lump them together like different colors of Playdough that make a giant ugly blob."
"It's disgusting," Jones agreed.
"It's sadly artless," Montgomery continued. "We have so many more pressing issues between North Korea and Iran."
"I would say, as a journalist, perhaps not the right day of the week [to ask about Cohen]," Faulkner said. "So then, this becomes more of an editorial session inside the White House Press Corps. And I just don't think that's a good look for them."
"That's the best thing about this idea of fake news," Montgomery replied. "It makes people really try and contemplate what is journalism, what does it mean to seek the truth as it comes to the separation between journalism and editorializing?"
