Fox News assures Trump that subpoena from Mueller is the good kind

A Fox News correspondent laughably suggested on Thursday that special counsel Robert Mueller’s new subpoena of the Trump Organization could signal that the end of the Russia investigation is nearing — and might even be “the kind of subpoena you want.”

Catherine Herridge, chief intelligence correspondent for Fox News, made the remarks during an appearance on “The Daily Briefing with Dana Perrino.”

Her comments came less than an hour after the New York Times reported Mueller had subpoenaed the Trump Organization for “all documents related to Russia and other topics he is investigating.”

The subpoena was widely seen as an ominous sign for Trump, signaling that Mueller is willing to put the full force of the government behind his demand for a wide range of financial and business-related documents.

New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt said the subpoena “moves the investigation closer to the president,” while MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos said the fact that Mueller used a subpoena instead of requesting documents shows that “the government means business.”

Meanwhile, University of Alabama law professor and former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance suggested that Mueller may have chosen to use a subpoena because he “already knows what they have and is waiting to see if they’ll turn it over.”

“Subpoenas have teeth,” Vance added.

But over on Fox, Trump’s favorite propagandists were busy spinning the story, saying it could even be good news for Trump that his business had been subpoenaed by federal investigators.

Asked about The New York Times report, Herridge suggested to Fox’s Perrino that Mueller’s move might mean that he is in the process of wrapping up the investigation.

The subpoena, Herridge said, could have been a “wrap-up subpoena or a cleanup subpoena, which is when you request records as you’re getting close to the end of the investigation and trying to tie up loose ends.”

“So it might not signal a new aggressive approach by the special counsel,” Perrino responded.

Herridge went on to suggest that the subpoena was old news, arguing that “this issue is at least six months old” — a remark that flatly contradicts The New York Times, which reported that the subpoena had been issued in recent weeks.

She concluded by telling Perrino that this could even be “the kind of subpoena you want.”

This is the first time the Trump Organization has been subpoenaed by the special counsel’s office as part of the ongoing Russia investigation, so the idea that this is a “clean-up subpoena” — one that seeks to get any remaining documents after a first round of subpoenas — doesn’t even make sense.

The fact that federal investigators are using the full force of the government to investigate Trump’s financial and business dealings is not a good sign for Trump. But as the quasi-propaganda arm of the Trump White House, Fox News is doing its best to downplay the report and reassure Trump — and his supporters — that the deluge of bad news is secretly good news.

According to previous reports, White House aides frequently turn to Fox News to try to calm Trump down in the midst of damning revelations about the Russia investigation.

Trump may take comfort by hiding out in the Oval Office and blocking out the real world with a steady diet of Fox News — but unfortunately for him, right-wing talking points are not accepted as evidence in a court of law.