Rep. Harley Rouda said an investigation into Attorney General William Barr’s recent meeting with Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch would be within the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s “purview.”
The California Democrat, who sits on the committee, shared his thoughts on the pair’s meeting, which was followed by the sudden departure of Fox’s Shepard Smith, while speaking with SiriusXM’s The Dean Obeidallah Show on Friday.
“Now Shepard Smith resigns today, companies can do what they want, but is it proper, and is it something Oversight would look at why the United States attorney general, who is so close to Trump, went to meet with a media outlet to discuss things, or is that not within your purview?” Obeidallah asked.
“I think it is within our purview because we want to know, because you raise a very, very important question here,” Rouda said. “What the hell is the attorney general of the United States doing meeting with … the head of Fox? And for what purpose could that possibly be, especially in light of the fact this is happening exactly at the same time the president of the United States is saying Fox News isn’t being kind enough to him?”
He continued, “In fact, he even said that their polling sucks — literally, that’s not my words, that’s his words. And I would suggest to the president maybe it’s not the polling that sucks, maybe it’s the people answering the poll think you suck.”
“I think it is within our [The House Oversight Committee’s] purview… “What the hell is the Attorney General of the United States doing meeting with the head of Fox [News]?”@RepHarley Rouda tells @DeanObeidallah of AG Bill Barr’s private meeting with Rupert Murdoch. pic.twitter.com/zYUw7Ox9Nt
— SiriusXM Progress (@SXMProgress) October 12, 2019
Smith announced his exit from Fox at the end of his show Friday following reports that the attorney general had met with Murdoch just days prior. A representative for Smith, as well as Fox News, has denied any connection between the meeting and his departure. However, some still speculated the events could be related, including an MSNBC guest who claimed it was “explicit” that the White House dictated his ousting.
