Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov has challenged Donald Trump’s assertions that others could face unjust investigations, dismissing his claims as unfounded and politically motivated. Tarlov, a Democratic voice on the conservative news network, criticized Trump’s argument that the investigations against him are part of a more significant effort to persecute ordinary citizens.
The former president is facing 91 charges across four criminal investigations, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Trump has consistently labeled these investigations as witch hunts aimed at hampering his chances of winning the 2024 election.
During a speech in June 2023, after being indicted in a federal classified documents case, Trump addressed a crowd at the Georgia Republican Party’s annual convention, stating, “They’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you—and I’m just standing in their way.” Newsweek reached out to Trump’s office for comment but received no response.
Tarlov, speaking on Monday’s episode of The Five, dismissed Trump’s suggestion, pointing out that the average person does not engage in actions such as inflating their wealth by millions or sexually assaulting women. She highlighted that ordinary citizens do not store classified documents in unconventional places or incite insurrections.
Tarlov’s statements were met with interruptions from her co-presenters on The Five as they continued to debate Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling that Trump must pay a $355 million penalty for fraudulently inflating the value of his properties and assets in financial statements over several years.
This discussion is not the first time Tarlov has clashed with Trump. In a post on Truth Social in January 2023, the former president criticized her for deliberately spreading false information and describing her voice as grating and unendurable. The disagreement between Tarlov and her fellow The Five co-host Jeanine Pirro arose when they discussed how Trump handled classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
It is worth noting that sensitive materials were discovered at President Joe Biden’s private residence in Delaware and his former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., prompting an inquiry and subsequent report from Special Counsel Robert Hur. However, Biden was not found guilty of any wrongdoing.
In a September 2022 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Tarlov emphasized that part of The Five’s appeal lies in the lively debates she often engages in with her conservative co-hosts. She highlighted that the show aims to mirror real-life conversations, encompassing different viewpoints and allowing for the expression of various aspects of one’s personality.
