Many have noted Andrew Napolitano’s tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. The New York Times said that Napolitano “has a taste for conspiracy theories” and the Washington Post has also depicted him as a "purveyor of conspiracy theories." Napolitano has made several claims about the American Civil War, most of which have been rejected by historians. Napolitano claims that the Civil War was President Abraham Lincoln's war by choice, that slavery was dying anyway, that Lincoln could have freed the slaves by paying the slaveholders, and that Lincoln armed the slaves. However, historians have said that not only was slavery “viable” during the time of the Civil War, but that “it was growing.” Also, Lincoln did offer to pay to free the slaves in Delaware, but his ideas were rejected by the Delaware legislature. Additionally, there is no evidence to suggest that Lincoln armed the slaves and Napolitano’s claim was rated “pants-on-fire” by PolitiFact.
On March 16, 2017, citing three unnamed intelligence sources, Napolitano said on the program "Fox and Friends" that Britain's top intelligence agency, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), had engaged in covert electronic surveillance of then citizen Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign on orders from President Obama. The claim was repeated by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer during a press conference and this prompted GCHQ to release a rare public statement saying: "Recent allegations made by media commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano about GCHQ being asked to conduct 'wiretapping' against the then president-elect are nonsense. They are utterly ridiculous and should be ignored." The claim started a diplomatic dispute with Great Britain and led to the White House apologizing to the British government saying that Spicer was "pointing to public reports" without endorsing them.
Recently, Napolitano has been critical of fellow conspiracy theorist President Donald Trump. In an opinion piece for Fox News titled Judge Andrew Napolitano: Donald Trump and the rule of law, Napolitano writes “I am deeply disappointed that the president uttered the word ‘treason.’ This is wrong under the law and a dangerous charge to make. The Times op-ed is protected political speech and personal opinion. Treason is the only crime defined in the Constitution, thereby preventing Congress and the courts from changing its meaning. It consists only of either waging war against the United States or any of the states or providing aid and comfort to those who are waging such a war. The president should know that it is nearly impossible to commit treason by expressing an opinion.”
Napolitano goes on to say that the Department of Justice is not a tool to placate the president’s torment and should focus on investigating criminal acts.“The president also needs to be reminded of his oath to uphold the Constitution -- which includes the rule of law. The United States is the freest and most prosperous country in history. But without the rule of law and its respect for constitutional fidelity, personal liberty, private property and legal norms, the U.S. would be just a beautiful piece of real estate.”
Return to the previous page| Birth Date: | 6 Jun, 1950 |
| Age: | 69 yrs |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Newark |
| Education: | Princeton University |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | American judge and syndicated columnist |
| Twitter Id: | Judgenap |
| Net Worth 2021: | 9 million |
