Juan Williams and Brit Hume clashed on "Fox News Sunday" during a discussion on the Justice Department naming their Fox News colleague James Rosen a possible "co-conspirator" in a leaks investigation.
The Washington Post reported last week that the Justice Department investigated Rosen after the Fox News reporter published a story about North Korea's nuclear program citing an unnamed State Department source. While investigating the source responsible for the leak, the Justice Department also obtained a search warrant for Rosen's personal email and five different phone lines used by Fox News. Later, NBC News reported that Attorney General Eric Holder personally signed off on the investigation.
During a major speech on national security policy, President Obama said Holder had agreed to review how the Justice Department conducted investigations involving journalists. "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace asked Williams if Holder could investigate his own actions.
Williams defended the attorney general and argued that Republicans had been "hammering" Holder to investigate national security leaks to the press. "Eric Holder did not conduct the probe that led people to somehow come to the ... conclusion that James Rosen is somehow a co-conspirator," Williams said. "He signed the affidavit as attorney general of the United States. He did not conduct the probe."
Hume seemed to vehemently disagree. "The problem is, [the affidavit] went to Holder and he okayed it," Hume argued. "You're saying he's not ultimately responsible as the head man of the Justice Department who personally signed off on this? If he signed off on it, how can he investigate it?"
"He's the exact right person of the attorney general of the United States to see what prosectors did and how they came to this conclusion," Williams said.
"Wasn't he supposed to see all of that before he signed off on the affidavit?" Hume said.
"He can't see everything!" Williams protested.
Watch the clip above via Mediaite.
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