Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin fight on 'The View' over Donald Trump's indictment.
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The View clash ignites as Sunny shuts Alyssa down over Trump indictment: 'I'll tell you why you're wrong'
Sunny Hostin challenged the former Trump associate's legal perspective and Alyssa Farah Griffin rolled her eyes during the debate.
By
Joey NolfiApril 05, 2023 at 12:23 PM EDT
Sunny Hostin shut down conservative cohost
Alyssa Farah Griffin after the
former Donald Trump associate inadvertently challenged her legal perspective Wednesday on
The View.
During an impassioned Hot Topics discussion about the former president's
indictment on 34 felony charges related to alleged hush money reportedly paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels, Griffin — who previously worked under the Trump administration's communications team — shot down the notion that Trump would go to jail over the ordeal.
"Yesterday was a bad day for
Donald Trump, the first indicted former president. I want to see this guy held accountable, [but] this case is not taking Donald Trump down," Griffin said, while Hostin, an attorney who holds a law degree from Notre Dame, quickly asked, "How do you know that?"
After Griffin stated that "there was no conspiracy charge," Hostin jumped in by noting that it "was a hard charge to prove." Griffin continued, however.
Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin debate Donald Trump indictment on 'The View'
| CREDIT: ABC
"The felony charges, the max sentence is four years, but this is a first-time offender, it's a non-violent crime, it's a Class E felony, every legal expert I've talked to is [saying this is] most likely a fine and probation — if he's even convicted," she said.
Without missing a beat, Hostin pointed to herself and firmly stated, "I'll tell you why you're wrong:
this legal expert."
The View set fell silent as a lone audience member could be heard yelling "oop!" after Hostin made the assertion.
"I'll tell you why you're wrong. Prosecutors are not only in the business of prosecuting crimes, we're in the business of sending out a message," Hostin elaborated. "If you let the president of the United States be found guilty of one to 34 counts, even if they're misdemeanors, and he gets to go home scott-free, you're sending a message to the country. That's not going to happen."
Alyssa Farah Griffin rolls her eyes on 'The View.'
| CREDIT: ABC
Griffin attempted to expand on her thought before moderator
Whoopi Goldberg jumped in. Griffin tried to say something else, but rolled her eyes and trailed off after Goldberg didn't yield.
On Tuesday's episode, Griffin speculated on how her former boss was handling his legal battle.
"There's been a bunch of reporting out there that Trump is loving this," Griffin said. "I know him well enough to know that he's not loving this, he's spiraling, he's somebody who, despite his terrible actions, does think about legacy of how he's perceived. And now, his life, whether it's his obituary, is going to say he was indicted, the first American president to be. Right now, his team is freaking out over a potential gag order from the judge, which would prevent him from being able to speak about what happened. And that's what he wants, he wants to go out and frame this his own way and spin the public."
The View continues weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on
ABC.