Names and faces
■ Fox News’ Tucker Carlson is being criticized for suggesting that no one should be surprised by the killing of two demonstrators during social unrest in Kenosha, Wis. Authorities “stood back and watched Kenosha burn,” he said on Fox News Channel on Wednesday.
“So are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder? How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?” Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-yearold Illinois resident and police supporter, was taken into custody on suspicion of homicide after the killings of two people involved in unrest following last weekend’s police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. Carlson’s commentary drew an angry response online because it was seen as sympathetic to Rittenhouse or offering justification for murder. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich tweeted that the Fox management “is complicit in Tucker Carlson’s racist, murderous rants” if they take no action against him. Author Don Winslow called the comments disgusting. But presidential son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that “the left-wing media is willfully twisting Tucker Carlson’s words to smear him. He never endorsed ‘vigilante justice.’ He just pointed out that when ‘leaders’ cede control of our streets to the mob, it leads to heartbreaking consequences.” Twitter flagged a link in one of Carlson’s tweets for sensitive content. Carlson’s tweet had quoted words he used on the air. Carlson has been criticized in the past for comments considered sympathetic to white nationalists. When asked for comment Thursday, Fox provided a transcript of Carlson’s segment from the night before.
■ A judge refused Friday to release the full report on how an Illinois prosecutor handled the case against actor Jussie
Smollett, who is accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself. Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Toomin determined that much of the material compiled by special prosecutor Dan Webb on the actions of State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is similar to what has already been widely published in the case. Webb’s report includes grand jury material, which can’t be released without a judge’s consent. In his report released earlier this month, Webb criticized Foxx and her staff for how they decided last year to toss charges against Smollett and how they explained the move as public outrage grew. Webb said that while no criminal charges were warranted against any of Foxx’s staff, his office will report potential violations of legal ethics in the handling of Smollett’s investigation to Illinois’ attorney disciplinary board. Webb and Ruben Castillo, the former federal judge who is representing the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, declined to comment on the judge’s ruling.