OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A Fox News segment got tense and testy on Wednesday between conservative broadcaster and lawyer Hugh Hewitt and liberal contributor Jessica Tarlov, who is also a co-host on the network’s popular program “The Five.”
During a discussion of the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to boot former President Donald Trump off the state’s 2024 ballot on evening anchor Bret Baier’s newscast, Hewitt lambasted Tarlov for “the worst legal take I have ever heard” after indicating she agreed with the ruling.
“Well, the legal impact, Bret, I have never been more ashamed of a court in the United States history,” Hewitt began after Baier asked him to respond. “I think this will go down in infamy as maybe one of the most ridiculous decisions by a state Supreme Court rendered in the course of American history.
“It truly is worthy of scorn. I’m at a loss for words… It should be overturned by the Supreme Court. It is interfering with the election, and the people who are most angry ought to be Governor DeSantis, Ambassador Haley, and Governor Christie because the Colorado Supreme Court is stepping on their campaigns and interfering with their election,” he said.
Tarlov began: “I have taken in a lot of the commentary on both sides of the decision. And I think that, in particular, we’re all going to be watching Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch who has actually already ruled on this issue when he was on the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.”
“So the case was Hassan v. Colorado. He wrote, and it is quoted in the majority opinion in the Colorado case, that the state does have a right to kick someone who is ineligible to run off of the ballot,” Tarlov argued. “And it is interesting in the dissent, and Hugh didn’t mention this, that the three dissenting justices did not refute the idea that Donald Trump played a part in this insurrection which under Section 3 of Article 14 should rule him ineligible to be running for office.
“They talked about lack of due process, but they didn’t engage with any of the evidence that was presented a five-day bench trial. They just said he didn’t get his due process,” she noted.
Baier interjected: “Jessica, the other point — he hasn’t been charged officially with that.”
“No. That’s also not stipulated in Section 3 that you have to be charged. It’s not there. I understand that’s the case they will make,” she said. “But it will be very difficult for Neil Gorsuch to go back on something that he has essentially already ruled on and especially if the dissenting Justices aren’t making it seem that solid of a case.”
After another guest commentator, The Wall Street Journal editorial board member and author Jason Riley, gave his take, Tarlov jumped back in to make additional remarks.
“Really quickly. Two points on that. One, this case was brought by a group of Republicans. It was not brought by Democrats. This doesn’t have to do with leftist politics,” she claimed. “And Donald Trump is the only person running for president who challenged our constitution. The one who said this election should not stand and asked Mike Pence to quote, ‘do the right thing.'”
Hugh Hewitt, a former practicing attorney, schools Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov, a non-attorney, over her ridiculous take regarding the Colorado high court's ruling to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot. pic.twitter.com/pmNDptmm1Y
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) December 21, 2023
“Stop! Stop!” Hewitt interjected before Tarlov said one last thing: “That is not something that a Democrat ever did.”
“Jessica, this is the worst legal take I have ever heard. It’s absurd,” Hewitt said as Tarlov shook her head.
“It is absolutely absurd for a non-lawyer to sit here and say that minus a confrontation with someone who has not been charged, much less convicted, that the court can take them off the ballot,” he continued. “It is a shameful moment in American jurisprudence. It is like watching a bad high school musical. It is a cringe-inducing moment for anyone who has ever taught the law, practiced the law, and Colorado will be scorned for decades because of this and will be reversed by the [U.S. Supreme] Court very quickly,” he said.
Baier then asked Hewitt if he believed that the nation’s highest court would overturn Colorado unanimously.
“I’m pretty sure it’s 9-0 because if Justice Brown Jackson or Justice Sotomayor throws in with the pirates in Colorado their reputation will be as damaged as the Colorado Justices’ reputation are. It is an absurd decision,” Hewitt responded.
