ABC News co-host Joy Behar seemed to think of herself as The View’s resident historian, especially since she liked to spout off with analogies to history, usually equating President Trump with Nazism. But during Thursday’s edition of the show, she did her best impression of Soviet secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria, who coined the infamous phrase “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” Without giving any apparent reason or evidence, Behar proclaimed that Attorney General Pam Bondi was, without a doubt, “looking at some prison time” when Trump was out of office.
Behar’s claim that Bondi would be going to prison came during a Hot Topic segment reacting to the Attorney General’s fiery and confrontational hearing before Congress. Having a heated conversation with elected leaders was not a crime, lest they send former Secretary Hillary “what difference does it make” Clinton to prison too.
In one of Behar’s infamously inaccurate “I know history” moments, she invoked Watergate and John Mitchell as an example of how Bondi would go to prison:
BEHAR: By the way, you know, just a little history, during the Watergate scandal President Nixon did not go to jail but John Mitchell did. John Mitchell was his attorney general.
SUNNY HOSTIN: Yes, correct.
BEHAR: So at the end of the day, Ms. Bondi, you're looking at some prison time.
As usual, Behar didn’t know history.
"At the end of the day, Ms. Bondi, you're looking at some prison time."
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 12, 2026
Joy Behar claims Bondi will, without a doubt, be in prison once Trump is out of office. She does say what crime Bondi committed not what evidence she had to make such a claim. pic.twitter.com/ov92vN66Nj
While Mitchell was indeed Nixon’s attorney general at one point and did go to prison for his role in the Watergate scandal, he had resigned as AG in order to be Nixon’s campaign manager. He left the DOJ on March 1, 1972 and Watergate happened on June 17 of that year. Mitchell didn’t go to prison for anything he had done as AG, only for actions he had done as Nixon’s campaign manager.
The derangement had Behar itching to send someone, anyone to prison, including America’s service members.
Of course, she needed to try to make more flimsy parallels to history. This time it was by invoking the Nuremberg Trials (again):
Again, I hate to bring up history again but there's something called the Nuremberg defense, which basically states that acting under orders, illegal orders does not relieve a person of responsibility under international law.
These people were saying, you do not have to obey an illegal order. And the illegal orders are the following, telling generals to send members into major cities to use theme as training grounds, suggesting that troops shoot protesters in the legs, ordering unlawful military strikes on boats in international waters.
Joy Behar wants new Nuremburg trials against the Trump administration.
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 12, 2026
Whoopi says the airmen and Navy pilots who struck the narco-terrorist drug boats should be dragged into court. pic.twitter.com/7FNIFZnRkE
The first two things she listed were never official orders and the final one arguably had historical precedence with how previous administrations had carried out strikes in countries the United States wasn’t at war with.
“Well, the Nuremberg Trial proved that going against an illegal order is legit. Going for the illegal order is not acceptable,” she continued to screech.
Moderator Whoopi Goldberg chimed in to proclaim every airman or Navy pilot who took part in the strikes on narco-terrorists would be in prison: “Which will happen to several of the people who found themselves having to bomb those boats.”
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
February 12, 2026
11:09:34 a.m. Eastern(…)
SUNNY HOSTIN: Hopefully, she'll [Attorney General Pam Bondi] be held to account for what we just saw and the things that she's been doing.
You know, I watched the thing in its entirety, and, you know, I'm an alum of the Department of Justice. I took an oath to defend the Constitution and represent the people of the United States of America. And it was one of the biggest honors of my life. And I always remember the first day when I got up in front of a judge in D.C. and they -- my maiden name was Cummings at the time and I said, you know, my name is Asunción Cummings and I represent the people of the United States of America.
And it was such an honor. It was a platinum job. It was difficult to get into the Department Justice. You either had to get in through the Honors Program or you had to have years of experience.
Now, my understanding is 70 percent of the prosecutors in the Civil Rights Division have resigned. 40 percent of prosecutors in the D.C. office have resigned. Career prosecutors are leaving in droves. The Justice Department is now in shambles.
So, the people of the United States have that person who is deeply unqualified, who is deeply unserious as their protection, as the person that is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States of America! I am so disgusted! I am so saddened by what is the destruction of one of the biggest and strongest institutions in our country!
JOY BEHAR: By the way, you know, just a little history, during the Watergate scandal President Nixon did not go to jail but John Mitchell did. John Mitchell was his attorney general.
HOSTIN: Yes, correct.
BEHAR: So at the end of the day, Ms. Bondi, you're looking at some prison time.
(…)
11:24:05 a.m. Eastern
BEHAR: Again, I hate to bring up history again but there's something called the Nuremberg defense, which basically states that acting under orders, illegal orders does not relieve a person of responsibility under international law.
These people were saying, you do not have to obey an illegal order. And the illegal orders are the following, telling generals to send members into major cities to use theme as training grounds, suggesting that troops shoot protesters in the legs, ordering unlawful military strikes on boats in international waters.
Those are illegal orders and these people are saying, you don't have to follow that and then they're saying that that is sedition because they're going against the order. Well, the Nuremberg Trial proved that going against an illegal order is legit. Going for the illegal order is not acceptable.
HOSTIN: And can land you in jail.
BEHAR: And will end you in jail, which is what happened to all those people.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Which will happen to several of the people who found themselves having to bomb those boats. We still don’t know who was in those boats.
(…)
