Obama’s Silence on Ex-Marine Jailed in Mexico Incites Heated Exchange Between Fox News Hosts

During a guest appearance Thursday on "The Five," Fox News host Bill O'Reilly got into a heated exchange with one of the show's co-hosts over President Barack Obama's silence on ex-Marine Jon Hammar, who has been imprisoned in Mexico on a disputed gun charge since August.

"You don’t think the United States government is not trying their damnedest to get this guy out of there? And by the way, there are thousands of American prisoners in Mexico," co-host Bob Beckel asked O'Reilly.

“Not like this. This is really egregious," O'Reilly replied. "He had paperwork, he brought in the paperwork over to the Mexicans and they grabbed him for extortion purposes. Now, what they are doing behind the scenes, I'm assuming they are doing what they should do. But should they have made a public statement before this time? Yes, they should. That is what leadership is. Especially  a commander-in-chief, you don't let one of your guys get chained to a bed in Matamoros."

He later went on: “We had the parents on last night...The State Department tells the parents, ‘We can’t do anything'...But we have a scientist in jail in Pakistan for 30 years and this is a guy that helped us get bin Laden. What has President Obama done about that? Nothing.”

Mediaite tracks some of the ensuing back-and-forth:

“That’s not right,” Beckel retorted. “They’ve gone to the ISI and they tried to get him out.”

“Who is they? Who went to ISI?” O’Reilly asked.

“I assume the CIA,” said Beckel.

“You assume a lot,” O’Reilly snarked back, sending the conversation into a shout-fest.

“You’re assuming something,” Beckel shouted.

“I’m not,” O’Reilly shouted. “I’m a fact-based guy. Have we seen Hillary Clinton say anything publicly? Seen the president say anything publicly? No. That is the fact.”

“You think saying something publicly is policy?” Beckel asked.

“So leadership is not saying anything and allowing people to assume we’re doing something? That’s Bob Beckel’s leadership. Let’s hear it for him,” O’Reilly responded by mock-clapping the liberal co-host. Beckel shot back that it’s unfair for him to assume the Obama administration is doing nothing to fix the situation.

Watch the entire war of words via Fox News/Mediaite below:

From a previous report by TheBlaze:

[Jon] Hammar and a friend were detained by Mexican authorities in August for a gun-related incident. The two men had crossed the border and provided the paperwork for the weapon they were carrying, an antique shotgun. However, police eventually impounded their RV and jailed both men, claiming it was illegal to carry that type of gun. Hammar’s friend was later released because the gun did not belong to him.

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Related:

• Mother of Former Marine Held in Mexican Prison: ‘We Need This to End Fast’
• First Photo of Marine Jailed in Mexico Sent to Family From Anonymous Mexican Email Account
• Mexican Ambassador’s Letter Suggests Marine Jailed on Disputed Gun Charge Won’t Be Home for Christmas