Latest news with #JesseWattersPrimetime
Fox News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Sen Lindsey Graham: Obama's alleged involvement in Russian interference during the 2016 election 'hoax' should be looked into
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., weighs in on Barack Obama's alleged involvement in the 2016 Russia collusion story on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
Fox News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
There's a ‘growing insurgency' on the Left, says Jesse Watters
Fox News host Jesse Watters gives his take on the 'civil war' brewing within the Democratic Party on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
McCarthy: Democrats ‘never' asked about Epstein files when he was House leader
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a recent interview claimed Democrats who are now seeking more details about the Jeffrey Epstein case 'never once' did so while he was in charge of the GOP-led House during the Biden administration. 'They never asked about it — they tried to hide from it,' McCarthy said during an appearance on Fox News's 'Jesse Watters Primetime' on Thursday. '[Trump] didn't hide from this — he had the authorities investigate this.' 'You know what I want? President Trump focused on exactly why we elected him, and that's what he's doing,' the California Republican added, lauding Trump's economic and foreign policy since returning to the White House. McCarthy was ousted from his leadership post in 2023 and retired weeks later from the lower chamber. In his latest remarks, the former Speaker defended the Trump administration's handling of the federal probe into Epstein, the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. The administration has faced fallout from Democrats and the president's MAGA base since the Justice Department (DOJ) and FBI issued a joint memo concluding that Epstein didn't keep a 'client list.' The finding runs counter to what Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this year and sparked calls for greater transparency. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday night that Trump allegedly penned a 'bawdy' 50th birthday note to the disgraced financier in 2003 before Epstein faced sex trafficking allegations and when the two were known associates. The president denied writing the message and threatened to sue the publication. Calls for the administration to release more documents have only grown in recent days, despite Trump's efforts to move on from the topic. 'We need total disclosure of the complete file, redacting only the names and the identities of the minor victims,' Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said during an MSNBC appearance Thursday. 'There is overwhelming bipartisan, popular demand, Congressional demand, to release all of this stuff.' Trump on Friday leaned into the same argument as McCarthy, asking why Democrats did not release more files when they controlled the Senate and White House. 'If there was a 'smoking gun' on Epstein, why didn't the Dems, who controlled the 'files' for four years, and had [former Attorney General Merrick] Garland and [ex-prosecutor Maureen] Comey in charge, use it,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!' His comments come a day after the president intervened, directing Bondi to release relevant grand jury testimony in the case. In response, the attorney general said she would ask a federal court to do so.
Japan Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
FBI launches probes into former FBI, CIA directors, Fox News reports
FILE PHOTO: The Federal Bureau of Investigation seal is seen at FBI headquarters in Washington, U.S. June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo The FBI has launched criminal probes into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, Fox News Digital reported on Tuesday, citing sources. The probes are over alleged wrongdoing related to past government investigations about claims of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections in which President Donald Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the news report said. The CIA and the Justice Department had no immediate comment. The FBI declined to comment. Reuters has not independently verified the probes. The scope of the criminal investigations into Brennan and Comey was unclear, the report added. Trump-nominated CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred Brennan, who served in that role under former Democratic President Barack Obama, for potential prosecution, according to the report. A criminal investigation does not necessarily result in charges. Brennan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Comey could not immediately be reached. Fox said its sources were from the Justice Department but did not specify the number of sources. "I am glad to see that the Department of Justice is opening up this investigation," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime" show in an interview. The probes reportedly target two former officials who have long drawn the ire of Trump and his supporters for their role in investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Comey led the FBI when authorities began a criminal investigation in 2016 into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the election. Trump fired Comey in 2017 early in his first term after Comey publicly confirmed Trump was under investigation. The probe was then taken over by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump railed against the investigation for years and has repeatedly dismissed it as the "Russia hoax." Brennan led the CIA when U.S. intelligence assessed, in a report made public in January 2017, that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to sway the 2016 U.S. vote in favor of Trump. A CIA review released last week found flaws in the preparation of the 2017 assessment, but it did not contest its underlying conclusion. The Fox News report on the investigations broke as Trump's top officials at the FBI and Justice Department faced online criticism from some Trump supporters for concluding that there was no evidence to support long-held conspiracy theories about the death of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. During Trump's first term, the Justice Department appointed a separate special counsel, John Durham, to examine any missteps in the FBI's Russia investigation. Durham brought charges against three lower-level figures who worked on the probe or provided information to investigators, but did not find evidence of a conspiracy to target Trump. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Fox News
01-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Fox News leaves rivals in the dust with historic Q2 ratings, posts viewership wins over ABC, NBC, CBS
Americans relied on Fox News Channel for information and analysis during the whirlwind second quarter of 2025 that was filled with historic breaking news. Fox News Channel crushed cable news competitors and continued to close in on the broadcast competition, surpassing ABC and NBC among viewers during the second quarter and topping CBS among both total viewers and the demo for the month of June. Last week, Fox News' breaking news coverage of the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities led all television, including ABC, NBC and CBS. Fox News was also the ratings leader during breaking news of the death of Pope Francis the Army 250th birthday parade and other major events during the jam-packed quarter. Along the way, Fox News Channel averaged 1.6 million total day viewers to lead all basic cable options during the second quarter, while topping MSNBC's average audience of 596,000 and CNN's 406,000 combined. Fox News has now been No. 1 in all cable among total day viewers for 17 straight quarters. During primetime, Fox News crushed all competitors with an average audience of 2.6 million. TNT finished second with 1.7 million, followed by MSNBC's one million. CNN averaged only 538,000 to finish outside the top five cable networks. It was the sixth straight quarter that saw Fox News finish No. 1 among both total day and primetime viewers. Fox News crushed CNN and MSNBC among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, too, averaging 202,000 total day viewers among the critical group, compared to 71,000 for CNN and only 57,000 for MSNBC. It was much of the same during primetime, as Fox News commanded 304,000 average demo viewers while CNN managed only 105,000 and MSNBC settled for 91,000. The quarter marked Fox News' second highest-rated second quarter in network history among weekday total day viewers, behind only 2020's coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fox News continued to occupy more than half the cable news share with 62% of the audience among total day and 63% in primetime. "The Five," with Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Jesse Watters, Jessica Tarlov and Harold Ford Jr., averaged 3.9 million total viewers and 410,000 among the demo to lead cable news across the board. "The Five" made history as the first non-primetime program to ever finish as the most-watched cable news offering for 15 consecutive quarters. It also outdrew key broadcast programs, including "CBS Evening News." "Jesse Watters Primetime" averaged 3.4 million total viewers and 396,000 in the demo to finish second in both categories. "Special Report with Bret Baier" dominated its timeslot, averaging nearly three million viewers for the quarter. Baier's exclusive interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month reached an audience of 30 million across linear, streaming and social media platforms, including 5.5 million video views across YouTube, according to Emplifi. "The Ingraham Angle", "Hannity" and "FOX News @ Night" also had stellar quarters as Fox News delivered 14 of the top 15 shows in cable news. "Gutfeld!" topped all broadcast and late-night television, including CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," NBC's "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon," "Late Night with Seth Meyers," CBS' "After Midnight" and Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." "FOX & Friends" and "FOX & Friends First" remained cable news' most-watched morning shows throughout the quarter, while "America's Newsroom" with Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer, "The Faulkner Focus," "Outnumbered," "America Reports with John Roberts and Sandra Smith," "The Story with Martha MacCallum" and "The Will Cain Show" all dominated their timeslots among cable news competition and surpassed a variety of broadcast offerings, including "CBS Mornings" and NBC's "Today Third Hour." Fox News also continued to thump the competition throughout the weekend for the quarter, outpacing CNN and MSNBC combined across both total day and primetime viewers. "The Big Weekend Show" was the most-watched show on Saturdays, while Maria Bartiromo's "Sunday Morning Futures" took the Sunday crown. Fox News finished the quarter strong, topping cable news during June among total viewers for the 52nd consecutive month. Fox News averaged 1.8 million total viewers during June compared to 593,000 for MSNBC and only 446,000 for CNN. It was also the 53rd straight month that Fox News outdrew CNN and MSNBC during primetime. Fox News averaged 2.8 million primetime viewers to lead all of cable, while MSNBC managed 955,000 and CNN settled for 642,000. Fox News continued its dominance among the advertiser-coveted demo, averaging 220,000 total viewers ages 25-54, compared to 83,000 for CNN and a dismal 60,000 for MSNBC. HGTV, Food Network, Comedy Central, USA, TBS, TNT and ESPN all also outdrew MSNBC in the critical category. "Hannity" finished June as the No. 1 program among the key demo. It was Fox News' second highest-rated June ever among both total viewers and the demo, behind only June 2020. Ratings data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.
