FILE - This Jan. 17, 2018, photo shows co-host Brian Kilmeade on the set of "Fox & Friends" in New York. The revelation that Fox News Channel personalities sent text messages to the White House during the Jan. 6 insurrection urging President Donald Trump to call off the attack is the latest example of the network's stars seeking to influence the actions of newsmakers instead of simply reporting the news. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - This Jan. 17, 2018, photo shows co-host Brian Kilmeade on the set of "Fox & Friends" in New York. The revelation that Fox News Channel personalities sent text messages to the White House during the Jan. 6 insurrection urging President Donald Trump to call off the attack is the latest example of the network's stars seeking to influence the actions of newsmakers instead of simply reporting the news. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on Friday sought to clarify the news organization’s use of a fake image depicting Judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed off on the Mar-a-Lago search warrant, with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Kilmeade was filling in for “Tucker Carlson Tonight” when the fake image was aired on Fox News. It showed a doctored photo of Reinhart receiving a foot massage from Maxwell.
“So a picture of Bruce Reinhart. This is the judge in charge of the... warrant. We’ll see if he’ll release it next. He likes Oreos and whiskey,” Kilmeade said Thursday night.
Now Kilmeade has released a statement on Twitter, telling viewers he wanted to make sure they were aware it “wasn’t real.”
Republicans have been heavily critical of Reinhart for signing off on the search warrant. And a barrage of online attacks have flooded right-wing message boards and social media platforms such as 4Chan since Reinhart was identified as the judge who approved the FBI’s warrant to search former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
He’s been attacked for serving as a defense attorney representing employees of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and Reinhart is also facing a deluge of antisemitic attacks and threats online.
Some of this rhetoric has also been targeted at the synagogue he belongs to.
Trump and his allies, without evidence, have suggested the search warrant was politically motivated. Some conservative commentators, including on Fox News, have floated baseless conspiracy theories suggesting FBI agents planted the evidence.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.