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Fox commentator says Mueller report dirty political trick

Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman David Johnson welcomes the GOP faithful to the annual Lincoln Day Dinner held at the Timberlanes Complex Thursday night. Fox News commentator Gregg Jarrett delivered the keynote address, focusing on the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia investigation, which Jarrett said “was all a hoax.” A redacted version of the report was released earlier in the day

SALEM — Fox News commentator Gregg Jarrett delivered his views on the just-released Mueller report live from the Timberlanes Complex Thursday night, first in person to rousing applause from Columbiana County Republicans, then on the Sean Hannity show.

In short, he said “this was a hoax.”

Jarrett’s best-selling book, “The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme To Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump,” said as much, a fact he kept pointing out as he discussed the big news of the day. The legal analyst for Fox News served as the featured speaker for the county GOP’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner and also spent some time at the home of Bob and Linda Sebo for a private reception prior to the banquet.

“The collusion section was right out of my book. There was never any evidence of collusion,” he said during a brief interview. “The obstruction section of the report was like reading a tabloid gossip column.”

Jarrett said he was surprised at how little of the report was redacted. Attorney General William Barr was following the law when he redacted parts of the report that involved grand jury or other protected information. He also said he wouldn’t call the report junk.

Beaver Local sophomore David Spencer, 16, celebrates with Johnson after being named Columbiana County Republican of the Year for his contributions to the party as a volunteer and for his enthusiasm. (Salem News photos by Mary Ann Greier)

“The message is that this is the dirtiest political trick in modern American history — it’s now been exposed,” he said.

Now he said Barr will investigate the actions of the FBI, intelligence agency and Department of Justice.

Jarrett told the crowd there were never any credible facts when the investigation started, based on a dossier he said was paid for by Hillary Clinton and based on anonymous sources and hearsay. He talked about how the mainstream media and those on the Left kept saying that special counsel Robert Mueller had a mountain of evidence that would drive President Trump from office. But for all the talk about collusion, there was none, and he explained that collusion is not a crime except in anti-trust law. Jarrett holds a law degree and he looked and looked, but could not find anything to show collusion as a crime.

He also said it’s not a crime to talk to a Russian or to receive election information from someone from Russia or France or anywhere else. There was no evidence of a crime of conspiracy, either. He said there was no obstruction of justice.

He said Mueller was doing a hit job when he threw in that the report didn’t exonerate Trump, yet he didn’t issue any charges against Trump. Jarrett was also critical of the media for what he described as an abandonment of objectivity regarding the investigation and what it would mean for Trump. He said news organizations recently honored with Pulitizers for their coverage should give them back for what turned out to be a hoax.

JARRETT

County GOP Chairman David Johnson said he was thrilled to have Jarrett speaking on the day of the report’s release. Johnson also surprised Beaver Local sophomore David Spencer with an award as the Columbiana County Republican of the Year, saying the 16-year-old was an impressive young man who was being honored for his contributions to the party as a volunteer and for his enthusiasm.

Johnson told the party faithful to “keep at it, politics matters.”

mgreier@salemnews.net

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