Tucker Carlson attacked House Intelligence Committee’s ranking member Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff as somehow in cahoots with Russia. Now, Trump's allies are using this bogus story to demand Schiff's removal from the Russia investigation.
With “DEMS: OUT OF CONTROL” as his backdrop, Carlson started his monologue Tuesday night. He solemnly proclaimed that he had “stunning” news about the Russia investigation – “news that will challenge everything you thought you knew about this story.”
He snarked about a video, also aired on the show, in which Schiff claimed that the Russians love our Second Amendment because it allows Americans to kill each other. (Schiff was talking about how the Russians seek to create American divisions.)
The snark continued: “Now tonight, we’ve learned that the foreign subversion goes even deeper than that. The Russian conspiracy is so subtle, and so crafty, such a bewildering Slavic hall of mirrors, that the very people warning us about Russia, are in fact key players in the Russian conspiracy. The leaders of the witch hunt... are witches.”
In setting up the theme of the piece – that Schiff is tainted – Carlson informed us that the Department of Homeland Security has declared Russia Today television (RT) “so dangerous that the channel has been forced to register as a foreign agent.” He asked rhetorically, “Who would appear on this channel?”
The answer, of course, is Schiff, “the man leading the charge against Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine” and who, according to Carlson is now “part of that machine.”
Carlson sarcastically presented us with his evidence of Schiff’s treachery: an out of context phrase from Schiff’s interview with RT.
Carlson did not inform viewers that the 2013 interview, about the need for FISA accountability, was long before Russia’s alleged interference in our 2016 election.
For added snark points, Carlson threw in a quote from another Democratic member of House Intelligence, Rep. Jim Himes who, during a 2015 RT interview with Larry King, said that the Iraq invasion was a mistake.
This was followed by more sarcasm (or not?): “Tokyo Rose went to prison for that. Now, we are not suggesting prison at this point. That’s a decision a new special counsel and federal grand juries will have to make after an appropriately extensive and independent investigation into all of this.”
Carlson went on to demand that Schiff and Himes recuse themselves from the Russia investigation and all appearances on MSNBC.
The "best" part was saved for last: A recent story from the tabloid Daily Mail reported that Schiff had been the target of Russian pranksters who told him they had naughty photos of Trump and a Russian model. Carlson claimed that while Schiff’s office said he was not fooled, “The transcripts suggest otherwise.”
Citing the Daily Mail’s evidence, Carlson also claimed that Schiff’s staff sought a meeting with the pranksters. He did not mention that Schiff repeatedly said he was going to pass along all information to the FBI.
Then Carlson tried to draw an equivalency between the Trump operation’s Russian connections and Schiff’s. With his usual, smug bombast, Carlson concluded, “Huh. Let’s see. Setting up meetings with foreign operatives seeking politically damaging information about a political opponent? We thought that was treason. Adam Schiff told us it was.”
FACT CHECK: Carlson merged two stories, one from the Daily Mail about the Russian pranksters and the other from the right-wing, pro-Russian site, The Duran, which reported on Schiff’s 2013 appearance on RT. But neither Schiff’s RT appearance, which had nothing to do with the 2016 presidential election three years later, nor his willingness to receive foreign intelligence about a sitting president (that he repeatedly warned should and would be provided to authorities) raise anything like the questions about the Trump campaign’s interactions with Russia, which everyone involved developed amnesia about, during the time that country was known to be interfering in the election on his behalf.
It’s not just unprofessional for Carlson to use this bogus equivalence to both smear a key figure in the Russia investigation and demean the investigation, itself, it’s downright unpatriotic. But, not surprisingly, Fox's GOP bestie, Rep. Matt Gaetz, is jumping at the chance to attack Schiff's credibility, demand his removal and use this bogus gotcha as yet another pretext to undermine the Russia investigation. And, after providing the opening, Carlson is now providing the platform.