The circumstances surrounding Tucker Carlson’s unexpected departure from Fox News remain shrouded in mystery.
His sudden exit occurred during a contentious legal dispute that culminated in a massive settlement of $787.5 million, purportedly negotiated to “buy peace” for the network, Trending Politics noted.
Amidst Carlson’s dethronement as the top-rated host on Fox News, reports have emerged of conflicts between him and the network’s executives. Carlson, who often tackled sensitive issues and challenged powerful individuals, had a reputation for being a free-spirited commentator in a cable news landscape that tended to avoid controversial topics.
Carlson spoke up on a range of hot-button issues, including the Covid-19 pandemic response, controversies surrounding the 2020 election, the January 6 riot, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the U.S.’s role in it.
He represented many disenchanted Americans whose opinions had been overlooked by the self-proclaimed “mainstream media.”
Trending noted further:
While the host’s explosive January 6 coverage was speculated to be a contributing factor in Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch pushing Tucker out, there has been more fuel to the fire added since the immediate fallout. The Independent reported more recently that Murdoch had actually chatted with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before Tucker Carlson’s removal was put into motion.
Since his departure, there has been a steady, insidious, and ineffective “leak campaign,” purportedly showing Tucker Carlson as brash, insensitive, and unstable have instead managed to further humanize him.
It is amidst this shady backdrop that a loaded conversation between Tucker Carlson and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party on Carlson’s show, has resurfaced.
During the debut episode of Tulsi Gabbard’s podcast on December 13th, Tucker Carlson shared that he had considered joining the CIA in the past. Additionally, he and Gabbard revealed unsettling information that shed light on the inner workings of Congress.
Tucker Carlson: “There are members of Congress who are controlled by the Intel Agencies”pic.twitter.com/N3Nytp7QF3
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) May 6, 2023
“There are members of Congress who are controlled by the Intel agencies,” Carlson began in the newly resurfaced clip. “I’m not speculating on this. You know, I lived there for 35 years. I know this.
“I had a very high-ranking, very high-ranking member of the House Intel Committee tell me at dinner, at a restaurant in Washington when he’d been drinking, ‘we’ve got to talk about this.’ And I said, ‘oh, I’ll text you.’ He goes, ‘I can’t text.’ And I said, ‘why is that?’ And he goes, ‘well, because NSA reads my text.’ And I said, ‘NSA reads, wait, you’re the head guy on the intelligence committee. You are their boss. You’re providing oversight in our constitution, constitutional system.’ He’s like, ‘yeah, but you know, they’re still spying at me,'” he said.
“First thing,” he continued. “Second thing, Michael McCaul. Who is, you know, the leader of, I would say, the neocons in the House, kind of low key neocons, but, but neocons,” he noted further. “I got into an argument with him once last year on the phone. He told somebody that I was a Russian agent or something. I was outraged.”
“So I called him on the phone and I, you know, I used bad language,” Tucker added. “I was really mad. And he said, ‘whoa, whoa, whoa. I just got that, you know, that’s what the Intel Briefers told me, that you were working for Russia.’ And I said, ‘that’s what the Intel Briefers told you. You believe your f***ing intel brief. Like, how old are you, son?’
“You know, I’m from D.C. My dad was in this world. Like, yeah, you don’t, you’re being manipulated by your Intel briefers,” he added.
At one point, Democrats — including two-time failed presidential contender Hillary Clinton — accused Gabbard of being a Russian operative.