Ralph Peters, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and former Fox News Analyst, appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 on Wednesday night. His first TV appearance since leaving Fox showed he had nothing but ill will toward his former network.
Host Anderson Cooper began by asking Peters about his fiery departure from Fox News, “How much damage do you believe they have done to this country and the institutions that uphold the law?” Peters explained [make sure to maintain past tense] his thoughts in great detail:
“I think they're doing a great deal of damage still. We won't know how bad for years to come when we see the ultimate result. But, Anderson, for years, I was glad to be associated with Fox. It was a legitimate conservative and libertarian outlet, and a necessary one. But with the rise of Donald Trump, Fox did become a destructive propaganda machine and I don't do propaganda for anyone. And, frankly, you know, as a former military officer, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. And I saw in my view, Fox, particularly the prime time hosts, attacking our constitutional order, the rule of law, the Justice Department, the FBI, Robert Mueller, and oh by the way, the intelligence agencies. And they are doing it for ratings and profit. And they're doing it knowingly, in my view, doing a great grave disservice to our country.”
Cooper then asked the retired service member about Fox’s primetime hosts: “Do you think they believe the stuff they are saying about the deep state, what they are saying about the Department of Justice, about the FBI?” Peters replied with an insult directed at the intelligence of Sean Hannity:
”I suspect Hannity really believes it. The others are smarter. They know what they're doing. It's bewildering to me. I mean, I wanted to just cry out and say, how can you do this? How can you lie to our country?”
Following up with his jab at Hannity, Peters declared the nation was embroiled in crisis: “I think we're in a constitutional crisis. Right now, we'll end up either, barring unforeseen circumstances, either with impeachment or before the Supreme Court or both.” Despite claiming to not “do propaganda for anyone,” after closely reviewing the interview, NewsBusters can confirm Peters spent almost a minute and a half of precious airtime talking about how the widely-questioned Steele Dossier must be true. So much for shying away from propaganda.
The assertions from Peters only added to the cable news chorus endlessly proclaiming that the Trump presidency has created a constitutional crisis.
Read the full transcript of the June 6 interview below:
CNN's AC360
6/06/2018
8:17 p.m. Eastern
ANDERSON COOPER: Earlier tonight, in a CNN exclusive, I spoke with retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters, who as I said recently, left Fox News and Fox Business News after ten years as a strategic and military analyst. He laid out the reasons in a piece for The Washington Post, the reasons for leaving, writing: "Today's Fox primetime lineup reaches paranoia, attacking processes and institutions vital to our republic and challenging the rule of law. He went on to write ; As Fox's assault on our constitutional order intensified, spearheaded by its after-dinner demagogues, I had no choice but to leave. My error was waiting so long to walk away." This is Colonel Peters' first on-camera interview since leaving Fox. I spoke to him a short time ago. Colonel Peters, this so-called spygate conspiracy theory, it wasn't just the president pushing his narrative. It wasn't just his allies in Congress. It was also Fox News. They talk about a witch hunt. I know you believe the witch hunt is actually against Robert Mueller and it's being led by Fox News.
LT. COL. RALPH PETERS (RET.), U.S. ARMY, FORMER FOX NEWS ANALYST: Yes, indeed I do. I mean, Robert Mueller is this noble -- and I use that word carefully -- as noble a public servant as you will find. And the assaults upon his character, upon his practices, upon his investigation just betray our fundamental principles.
COOPER: In the e-mail that you sent your colleagues in Fox News back in March, when you told them you weren't renewing your contract, you said and I quote, "Fox News is assaulting our constitutional order and the rule of law, while fostering corrosive and unjustified paranoia among viewers." How much damage do you believe they have done to this country and the institutions that uphold the law?
PETERS: I think they're doing a great deal of damage still. We won't know how bad for years to come when we see the ultimate result. But, Anderson, for years, I was glad to be associated with Fox. It was a legitimate conservative and libertarian outlet, and a necessary one. But with the rise of Donald Trump, Fox did become a destructive propaganda machine and I don't do propaganda for anyone. And, frankly, you know, as a former military officer, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. And I saw in my view, Fox, particularly the prime time hosts, attacking our constitutional order, the rule of law, the Justice Department, the FBI, Robert Mueller, and oh by the way, the intelligence agencies. And they are doing it for ratings and profit. And they're doing it knowingly, in my view, doing a great grave disservice to our country.
COOPER: Do you think, you know, some of the hosts who -- in prime time, do you think they believe the stuff they are saying about the deep state, what they are saying about the Department of Justice, about the FBI?
PETERS: I suspect Hannity really believes it. The others are smarter. They know what they're doing. It's bewildering to me. I mean, I wanted to just cry out and say, how can you do this? How can you lie to our country? How can you knowingly attack our Constitution, the bedrock of our system of government, the bedrock of our country? And when you go after the Constitution, you best beware because you are doing a phenomenal, indeed measurable damage.
COOPER: Do you think we are heading to a constitutional crisis?
PETERS: I think we're in a constitutional crisis. Right now, we'll end up either, barring unforeseen circumstances, either with impeachment or before the Supreme Court or both. But when you have a president who believes he is above the law, who does not understand our system of government, does not respect our system of government and willingly subverts our system of government, you've got a constitutional crisis. I mean, Anderson, when the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence wrote that all men are created equal, they knew that we're not all born with the same good looks and the same intelligence or even the same privileges, the same strength and talents. They meant, they were sons of the enlightenment, they meant we are all equal before the law. And no man is above it, no man falls below it. Our president seems to genuinely believe that he is above the law and that's -- this is a situation we haven't been faced with before with this administration. Even Senator Joseph McCarthy in his witch hunt days never directly attacked the Constitution. This is utterly unprecedented.
COOPER: You referred to it as sort of a cult of Trump.
PETERS: Yes, I think a lot of Trump supporters are so embarrassed by how it has turned out, that they just cling to him. They won't let facts penetrate their reality. I'm startled by relatively well- educated people and I know some military veterans who still insist that Trump can do no wrong. That he is some sort of messiah. And I'm afraid I part company with their views.
COOPER: You -- I mean, you actually trained in Russian studies, the Russian language, you have first hand experience with how Russian intelligence operates. Do you believe that Vladimir Putin has some kind of grip on President Trump?
PETERS: I am convinced that Vladimir Putin has some a grip on President Trump. And, Anderson, when I first learned of the Steele dossier, it just rang true to me, because that's how the Russians do things. And before he became a candidate or president, Donald Trump was the perfect target for Russian intelligence. Here is someone who has no self-control, a sense of sexual entitlement and intermittent financial crisis. I mean, that's made-to-order for seduction by Russian intelligence. And, look, I maybe wrong. I hope I'm wrong. I hope he doesn't have a grip on him. But the dossier rings true. I think in the future, we're going to look back at the much maligned Christopher Steele who took that dossier to the FBI as something of a hero. And yet, I hope I am wrong. But when you look at Trump's behavior patterns, his unwillingness ever to criticize Vladimir Putin, his slow-rolling sanctions, his unwillingness to create problems with Russia, even though as he attacks NATO, disrupts the relations with the E.U., how can you not draw the conclusions that Donald Trump, the president of the United States, is frightened of Vladimir Putin and his grip.
COOPER: So for you, the Mueller investigation is critical. It moving forward and it being allowed time to complete.
PETERS: Without exaggeration, the Mueller investigation is the most important of my lifetime and I am 66-years old. I live through Watergate. This is -- again, Anderson, it's about a fundamental assault on the Constitution by the President of the United States and his paladins. It cannot get graver short of a world war.
