Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy made a rare break from the network’s fawning coverage of Donald Trump to question why the former president kept top secret files at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday.
After the Department of Justice’s damning late night release on Tuesday showed evidence that Mr Trump kept classified papers at his Florida home, a stunned Mr Doocy asked why the documents hadn’t been returned when requested by the National Archives.
“Ultimately, it comes down to why did he have all that secret stuff at Mar-a-Lago? I know his team has said they declassified it, but that’s news to the agencies that those documents belong to,” Mr Doocy said during a tense exchange with South Dakota governor Kristi Noem.
“He had apparently three classified documents in his desk,” he continued. “What were they doing in the desk?”
Images released by the DOJ showed classified papers spread out on the floor which included several folders marked “top secret” and another marked SCI - which stands for sensitive compartmentalised information.
“These are the biggest secrets in the world! Why wouldn’t he say ‘oh you know what, I really need to turn that stuff over’,” Mr Doocy added.
In its filing late on Tuesday, the Justice Department noted that it has evidence that government records were likely moved to obstruct its investigation.
The Fox & Friends hosts have been among Mr Trump’s most loyal supporters on the network, along with the primetime lineup of Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.
But Mr Doocy has defended the FBI and federal law enforcement as they came under attack from conservative and Republican commentators since the 8 August raid on Mar-a-Lago.
“I’m just curious: whatever happened to the Republican Party backing the blue?” Mr Doocy asked senior GOP House member Steve Scalise during an unusually tough questioning earlier this month.
