Megyn Kelly Debates Sheriff Clarence Dupnik About His Comments On Arizona Shooting (VIDEO)

Fox News' Megyn Kelly debated Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, the man leading the investigation into the shooting in Arizona, about the sheriff's recent comments about what he saw as the "vitriol" in political and media discourse that had contributed to the incident, in which six, including a federal judge, have died, and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot.

Dupnik appeared on a special Sunday edition of "America Live." Kelly asked about the suspected shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, and what his motives might be. Was there something, she asked, about Giffords that "set [Loughner] off?"

"There are a whole lot of people in this country who are very angry about the politics of people like Gabrielle," Dupnik said. "There was a lot of vitriolic statements made night and day on radio and TV about her support of health care, about her support of some of the other things, and some of the vitriol got .... a lot of people agitated. But you took the words out of my mouth...you're talking about irrational behavior here."

Kelly asked if there was anything the sheriff had discovered in his investigation that suggested that Loughner was "listening to radio or watching television and was in any way inspired by what he heard or saw?"

Dupnik said that he did not yet have any such evidence, but that the investigation had only just begun.

Kelly said she was wondering if it was the right time for Dupnik to be, in her words, "injecting speculative opinion" about the case. He replied that he thought that the issue had to be raised. "Free speech is free speech but it's not without consequences," he said. But Kelly pressed him further. "With respect, sheriff, I know that you're a Democrat and you ran for office as a Democrat, and I just want to press you on that a little. I'm sure some of our viewers are asking themselves why you are putting a political spin on this when they may be asking why you the sheriff aren't just focused on the facts, on uncovering the facts," she said.

WATCH:

Comments

[Roy Robson]

10:48 PM on 02/11/2011

Ok let's see,
1.His teacher and fellow students thought he was a threat
2.Campus Police had several problems with him with reports to verify
3.Local PD and Sheriffs office had dealt with him several times
4.His mother worked for the county that Sheriff Dupnik was Sheriff
I wonder if someone if trying to keep from getting sued, oh wait according to the supreme court you can't sue law enforcement for not doing their job...
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/28scotus.html

[jubes]

03:34 PM on 01/12/2011

Megyn, you may be over your head on this one. Most of the country supports the sheriff regardless of who did or didn't create an atmosphere that led to the unthinkable. The rhetoric has been overwhelmingly lightening charged and really does need to be tamped down no matter what.

[paleoimage]

01:14 PM on 01/12/2011

Amazing how far to the right this country has shifted... it's hard to imagine a major media outlet taking issues with the "liberalism" exposed by an sheriff from Arizona.

[PallinAround]

12:23 PM on 01/12/2011

Using "Megyn Kelly" and "debate" in the same sentence is an insult to high school debaters everywhere.

[tedmore123]

10:34 AM on 01/12/2011

MK speaks as if HIS words tilted the blame towards the right when EVERY DAY Fox tilts blame for everything wrong in the world towards Democrats, Progressives and anyone who thinks critically. She and the rest of Fox do a disservice to the public simply by being on the air.

[tedmore123]

10:29 AM on 01/12/2011

Where were these probing questions when Dubya was in the white house shredding the constitition and pissing on our freedoms. All I heard out of Fox Noise was; "Geez Mr. President, good job."

[Francois Bergeron]

07:02 AM on 01/12/2011

So free speech is ok for her but not for him?
He can't say his opinion?
The sheriff's opinion is shared by me and many other people.

[jaredbrain]

03:33 AM on 01/12/2011

"So you're a democrat, and i want to press you on that, because here at Fox that means you're pretty much a liar from the getgo and I want to warn my viewers that your opinions have not been approved by Rupert Murdoch.

[krz2]

10:18 PM on 01/11/2011

in the rural county I live in, it's routine for a sheriff deputy to be present when even a state representative holds a public event like this. they're on sight to manage whatever even small crowd might show up. Locals should be looking hard at how this guy totally dropped the ball here.

[facen]

08:28 PM on 01/23/2011

raw humor

[helgathewitch]

09:39 PM on 01/11/2011

Her internal ugliness is starting to seep through to the outside

[thos]

06:57 PM on 01/11/2011

It's called "debate". It means a discussion involving opposing viewpoints. It can be found on networks other than MSNBC. Check it out sometime.

[JPMac]

05:53 PM on 01/11/2011

Get in front of microphones and says things that are not true...like what you are saying right now sheriff!!!

[gemini68]

04:00 PM on 01/11/2011

What she really meant was "With all due respect Sheriff you're a Democrat and so therefore nothing you say should be taken seriously by any of our lemming viewers. That's right folks, DON'T listen to the man. Sure, what he said was perfectly reasonable but we don't deal in reason here on Fox News!"

[wizzardly]

03:46 PM on 01/11/2011

This guy makes Barney Fife look competent.

[Steve Frazier]

06:35 PM on 01/11/2011

So you judge him on his looks, not merit? He spoke very clearly and purposefully. His grasp of the facts was excellent. I guess that since you disagree with him you must attack him in any feeble way that you can.

[JBDenver]

01:17 AM on 01/15/2011

Mao and Castro spoke clearly and purposefully with clear grasp of facts...what's your point? (Other than the Barney Fife comment - and with that I whole heartedly agree).

[Datlbme]

03:19 PM on 01/11/2011

Does anyone else find it ironic that Megyn Kelly is accusing someone of using "political spin" and not focusing on "facts"? Does she remember where she is working?