Shep Smith Rages on Fox News Colleague for Defending BP

 Danny Shea First Posted: 06-25-10 10:31 AM   

Shep Smith challenged his Fox News colleague Judge Andrew Napolitano Thursday over Napolitano's apparent defense of BP (h/t Mediaite).

Appearing on Smith's "Studio B," Napolitano argued that because BP relied on inaccurate government models to draw up its contingency plans, the government is at fault, and not the oil company.

"The oil companies have no choice, Shep, but to rely on what the government tells them," Napolitano — a libertarian who recently launched a tea party show on Fox Business Network — said. "So on the basis of this erroneous information, the government says: 'Don't dig at 500 feet, where Gov. Jindal says you can dig, where you want to dig, where we know you can easily control a spill, dig at 5,000 feet where our environmentalist folks think you should dig."

"I'm getting kinda grossed out, Judge," Smith shot back. "You're blaming the government for this?'

"I'm blaming the government for this," Napolitano affirmed.

Smith then went off on BP's record of safety violations and mistakes, asking Napolitano, "And now you're going to turn around and blame the government for these bumbling, fumbling, crazy people?"

"How does it feel to be standing up for BP?" he asked.