Gregg Jarrett

Gregory Walter Jarrett (born April 7, 1955) is a conservative American news commentator, author and attorney. He joined the Fox News in November 2002, after working at local NBC and ABC TV stations for over ten years, as well as national networks Court TV and MSNBC.

This article is about the Fox News personality. For the radio personality, see Greg Jarrett (radio personality).

Gregg Jarrett
Jarrett in December 2019
Born
Gregory Walter Jarrett

(1955-04-07) April 7, 1955
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationPolitical Commentator Fox News, Defense attorney
Spouse(s)
Catherine Kennedy Anderson
​
​
(m. 1993)​

Jarrett is known for his pro-Trump commentary, and for his criticism of the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. In 2018, he published The Russia Hoax, which argues that the "deep state" have sought to undermine the Trump administration and protect 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. He has described Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe as "illegitimate and corrupt" and likened the FBI to the KGB.

Biography

Jarrett was born in Los Angeles and raised in nearby San Marino, California, graduating from San Marino High School in 1973.[1] He graduated magna cum laude from Claremont Men's College in 1977 with a degree in political science. He graduated from law school at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, in 1980, and worked as a defense attorney for several years in San Francisco with the firm of Gordon & Rees LLP. As of February 3, 2015, his California State Bar license is listed as "inactive."[2] Jarrett has taught law as an adjunct professor at New York Law School and lectured at other law schools.[3]

Jarrett joined Fox News in November 2002. Prior to joining Fox, Jarrett worked at MSNBC.[4] Jarrett also worked at Court TV, now known as TruTV, for eight years, serving as the anchor of Prime Time Justice. He hosted the network's nationally syndicated half-hour magazine show, Inside America's Courts, which was seen daily on broadcast stations (NBC in New York City and Los Angeles) and weekends on CNBC.

Prior to Court TV, Jarrett worked for a number of local stations. including KCSM-TV in San Francisco, California; WMDT-TV in Salisbury, Maryland; WKFT-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina and KSNW-TV in Wichita, Kansas. While at KSNW, he received a Heartland Emmy Award for the "Turnpike Tornado" news segment.[5]

Pro-Trump commentary

Jarrett's legal commentary has generally defended President Donald Trump. In August 2017, Jarrett called for a grand jury for Hillary Clinton over her email controversy.[6] A day later, when a grand jury was impaneled by special counsel Robert Mueller in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, Jarrett said that grand juries were an "undemocratic farce".[6] Jarrett later called the Mueller investigation "illegitimate and corrupt" on Fox News, stating that "the FBI has become America's secret police" and "a shadow government".[7][8] Jarrett likened the FBI to the KGB, the Soviet security agency, for which he received PolitiFact's "Pants on Fire" rating.[9] According to PolitiFact, "numerous historians of the FBI and the KGB say the comparison is ridiculous. The KGB implemented the goals of the Communist Party leadership, including countless examples of tortures and summary executions. The FBI, by contrast, is subject to the rule of law and is democratically accountable".[9]

In the context of possible collusion between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government, Jarrett has said that any such collusion would not be a crime: "Collusion is not a crime. Only in antitrust law. You can collude all you want with a foreign government in an election. There is no such statute."[10][11] According to PolitiFact, the statement is false. Three prominent election law scholars said there are at least four laws that would prohibit the sort of activities under investigation, whether those laws mention collusion or not. Jarrett's focus on a single word fails to reflect the reach of the criminal code."[10]

Jarrett has said that former FBI Director James Comey may have broken the law by releasing a memo to press wherein Comey recounted a conversation with President Trump where Trump requested that Comey end the investigation into Michael Flynn.[12] University of Texas School of Law professor Bobby Chesney said Jarrett's assertion was "nonsense".[12] University of Georgia law professor Diane Marie Amann also refuted Jarrett's assertion.[13]

In February 2018, Jarrett asserted that he had a "highly reliable congressional source" which told him that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein "used the power of his office to threaten members of Congress"; HuffPost described the assertion as "dubious".[8]

The Russia Hoax

In 2018, Jarrett published the book The Russia Hoax which alleges that "Hillary Clinton’s deep state collaborators in government" engaged in "nefarious actions" to protect Clinton and undermine Trump.[14] The book was an Amazon and New York Times best-seller.[14] President Trump praised the book.[15] According to Rolling Stone magazine, the book "amounts to 286 pages of recapping every single bad thing the Clintons have ever been accused of doing (Uranium One is, again, mentioned dozens of times.)... The idea that the Clinton email investigation could be dropped, and the Russia investigation taken up just a few months later isn’t seen as coincidence, but conspiracy, a bit of revenge enacted by an intelligence community full of Clinton fans."[14] In a review for The Washington Post, Carlos Lozada described the book as a Trump hagiography.[16] In 2018, PolitiFact highlighted five claims made in Jarrett's book as false, misleading and unsubstantiated.[17]

Personal life

In mid-May 2014, Jarrett requested a leave of absence from Fox for personal reasons. His leave was granted and he was replaced by other journalists with no date set for his return. Jarrett was arrested in May 2014 by Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport police, who were called to an airport bar after reports that Jarrett seemed intoxicated and acted belligerently. Jarrett was booked into Hennepin County Jail and charged with interfering with a police officer.[18] Jarrett pleaded guilty in July 2014 to disorderly conduct in connection with the incident. CNN reported that Jarrett's arrest occurred right after Jarrett had checked out of a rehabilitation facility.[19] Jarrett returned to Fox News before the end of 2014.[19]

Bibliography
  • Jarrett, Gregg (2019). Witch Hunt: The Plot to Destroy Trump and Undo His Election. Broadside Books. ISBN 978-0062960092.
  • Jarrett, Gregg (2018). The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump. Broadside Books. ISBN 978-0062872746.

References
  1. "Gregg Jarrett's profile". Fox News. 2014. Archived from the original on July 10, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
  2. "California State Bar records". 2014. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  3. Lane, Judy (Autumn 1997). "ALUMNI PROFILE /Gregg Jarrett '80: A Legal Career in Television" (PDF). UC Hastings Alumni Magazine. p. 12. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  4. "Pills possible factor in Fox News anchor's arrest". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  5. "1991 Heartland Emmy Awards". Heartland Chapter of NATAS. National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 1991. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  6. Rowland, Geoffrey (August 4, 2017). "Fox's Jarrett calls grand juries 'undemocratic farce' one day after calling for one for Clinton". The Hill. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  7. Concha, Joe (December 7, 2017). "Fox legal analyst Jarrett: Mueller investigation 'illegitimate and corrupt'". The Hill. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  8. Reilly, Ryan J. (February 7, 2018). "Fox News' Latest Attack On Rod Rosenstein: He Threatened GOP Congressmen". HuffPost. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  9. "Has the FBI 'become America's secret police'?". @politifact. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  10. "Fox News host wrong that no law bans Russia-Trump collusion". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  11. "If Donald Trump Is a Crook, What Kind Is He?". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  12. "No, Jim Comey Is Not In Legal Jeopardy". Lawfare. May 17, 2017. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  13. "Trump asks if Comey's leaks 'totally illegal.' Not really". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  14. Merlan, Anna (August 16, 2018). "A Deep Dive Into the Deep State: Unpacking the Summer of Trump Conspiracy Theories". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  15. Birnbaum, Emily (August 2, 2018). "Trump praises Fox analyst's book claiming there's a scheme to 'frame' Trump". TheHill. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  16. "Review | I read six sycophantic pro-Trump books — and then I read Omarosa". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  17. "Fact-checking Fox News analyst's pro-Trump 'The Russia Hoax'". PunditFact. Archived from the original on September 23, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  18. Stanglin, Doug (May 22, 2014). "Pills possible factor in Fox News anchor's arrest". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  19. Tom Kludt, Fox News releases Bob Beckel over his 'personal issues' Archived July 18, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, CNN (June 25, 2015).
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