www.newsbusters.org
The View Dismisses Grand Jury Indicting Don Lemon, Suggest Trump Made it Up
ABC’s The View was fully in the corner for disgraced former CNN host Don Lemon on Monday’s show, following his weekend arrest by federal authorities on a grand jury indictment, stemming from his role in storming a Minneapolis church. In addition to downplaying the charges, they seemed to suggest that the indictment wasn’t real and made up by the Trump administration. At no point did they address any of the charges. Instead, they hinted that the all liberals would end up in prison.
As she was leading into the story, moderator Whoopi Goldberg seemed to be hearing about the case for the first time, as she was reading from the teleprompter; needing basic things clarified (Click “expand”):
GOLDBERG: So, I just want to understand because I - He was at that protest like a week ago, right, in the church?
SUNNY HOSTIN: Yes.
GOLDBERG: And then a week later they sent --
HOSTIN: They got a grand jury to indict –
GOLDBERG: To indict -
HOSTIN: - two counts –
Fake Republican Ana Navarro tried to dismiss the legitimacy of the charges and seemed to suggest that the indictment wasn’t real, but something fabricated by the Executive Branch “themselves”:
This is after they had gone to three different courts trying to get judges to sign off, and the judges in all three previous cases said to the DOJ, 'get the hell out of my courtroom, you clowns. There is no case here.' So, they basically did it themselves.
The View dismisses the grand jury indictment of Don Lemon and essentially claims the Trump administration forged a court order to arrest him, and claims they only targeted black journalists:
ANA NAVARRO: This is after they had gone to three different courts trying to get judges… pic.twitter.com/XAFHLqVkKJ
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 2, 2026
Of course, she tried to squeeze Lemon’s indictment together with the release of the Epstein files, claiming the indictment was a choreographed distraction. “They released the news at the exact same time that they released the Epstein documents,” she said.
Navarro also tried to cry ‘racism’ by claiming the Trump administration went out of their way to only charged black journalists:
So, make no mistake about it. This was about gaslighting, this was about going against Don Lemon and other journalists. By the way, all of whom happen to be black. Happy Black History Month. And I think it's to send a chilling message to anybody who is covering facts. (…) this administration is afraid of people seeing the truth and being informed.
Navarro provided no evidence that any white journalists had joined the rioters at the church, let alone any that escaped prosecution.
Counting Lemon among her “dearest friends,” co-host Sunny Hostin proclaimed that the case was meritless and predicted a fast dismissal:
And I agree with that. Do you know what happens next is that he will have his day I court and I suspect that this case will be thrown out. This case doesn't have any merit. And I think the National Association of Black Journalists said it best. They said, ‘the First Amendment is not optional and journalism is not a crime.’ And that is absolutely, absolutely true.
Despite the grand jury indictment, Sunny Hostin (who's friends with Lemon) proclaims "this case will be thrown out." While not going over any of the facts of the case, Hosting declares: "[H]e was getting the story and nothing should have gotten in the way of that. He had a… pic.twitter.com/B3uvC56BQR
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 2, 2026
“Don is a journalist, he’s an on the ground journalist. He has been pepper sprayed, he has been tear-gassed, and he was getting the story and nothing should have gotten in the way of that!” Hostin exclaimed. “He had a microphone with him, he had a cameraman with him and he was practicing journalism!”
Adding: “This is about scaring other journalists, so that other journalists will not cover this administration!”
Goldberg chimed in again as they were going to a commercial break with an insane suggesting that the Trump administration was going to put all liberals in prison, and that Lemon was a signal to that intent.
“If it's happening like this for someone who is out and clearly doing his job, what do you think will happen to us?” she asserted while gesturing to the audience. “Now it's like, okay, we all got to stick together with all of this because it's affecting all of us from A to Z.”
Whoopi seems to suggests what happened with Lemon will happen to everyone on the left:
"Listen, what I said to you before, you see what's happening, you know what's happening. If it's happening like this for someone who is out and clearly doing his job, what do you think will… pic.twitter.com/39028c42wV
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 2, 2026
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
February 2, 2026
11:17:58 a.m. Eastern
(…)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So, I just want to understand because I - He was at that protest like a week ago, right, in the church?
SUNNY HOSTIN: Yes.
GOLDBERG: And then a week later they sent --
HOSTIN: They got a grand jury to indict –
GOLDBERG: To indict -
HOSTIN: - two counts -
ANA NAVARRO: This is after they had gone to three different courts trying to get judges to sign off, and the judges in all three previous cases said to the DOJ, 'get the hell out of my courtroom, you clowns. There is no case here.'
GOLDBERG: Okay.
NAVARRO: So, they basically did it themselves. They did it -- they released the news at the exact same time that they released the Epstein documents.
SARA HAINES: Epstein files!
NAVARRO: So, make no mistake about it. This was about gaslighting, this was about going against Don Lemon and other journalists. By the way, all of whom happen to be black. Happy Black History Month. And I think it's to send a chilling message –
HOSTIN: Correct.
NAVARRO: - to anybody who is covering facts.
For some reason -- well, I know the reason -- this administration is afraid of people seeing the truth and being informed. And I think they picked on the wrong guy, because Don Lemon is not going to play dead. Dom Lemon was the wherewithal, has the structure, has the team, has the courage, and has the money to fight this administration, and he's going to take it as far as it goes and he’s not going to – [Inaudible]
[Applause]
HOSTIN: And I agree with that. Do you know what happens next is that he will have his day I court and I suspect that this case will be thrown out. This case doesn't have any merit. And I think the National Association of Black Journalists said it best. They said, ‘the First Amendment is not optional and journalism is not a crime.’ And that is absolutely, absolutely true.
[Applause]
What's striking to me is that, you know, Don is -- I want to be transparent. You know, Don is of my dearest friends. And so, I felt terrible when I saw this happening and, you know – And I wish everybody had a husband like Don's, Tim, because he looked like Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard! I mean, he doesn’t he doesn’t play about his husband!
But, I really think -- I've been with Don in Ferguson, I've been with Don on the ground in South Carolina. Don is a journalist, he’s an on the ground journalist. He has been pepper sprayed, he has been tear-gassed, and he was getting the story and nothing should have gotten in the way of that! He had a microphone with him, he had a cameraman with him and he was practicing journalism!
And I think you're right, Ana, this is about - not necessarily about Don because he can fight this. He has the resources. This is about scaring other journalists, so that other journalists will not cover this administration!
(…)
11:21:04 a.m. Eastern
GOLDBERG: Well, you know. Listen, this is what I said to you before. You see what's happening, you know what's happening. If it's happening like this for someone who is out and clearly doing his job, what do you think will happen to us? [Gestures to the audience]
HOSTIN: Right.
GOLDBERG: So, it's important to recognize what we are voting for now. It's not a conversation, it's not a thing. Now it's like, okay, we all got to stick together with all of this because it's affecting all of us from A to Z. We will be right back.