Calls for Investigation into Biden Admin for Spying on Tucker Carlson
Top Republicans demand allegations of NSA spying on reporter are investigated
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Following the bombshell allegations that Joe Biden's administration is spying on Fox News host Tucker Carlson, calls are mounting for the explosive claims to be fully investigated.
On Wednesday, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) demanded that an investigation be launched into allegations made by Carlson this week.
Carlson revealed Monday night that a government whistleblower confirmed he is the target of a National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance operation as part of an effort by the Biden admin to shut him down.
He said the Biden admin is spying on him by reading his confidential texts and emails in order to try and take his show off the air.
The Fox News host said the whistleblower informed him that the NSA was monitoring his online communications and confirmed the claim by repeating back to him information about a story that he is working on that could only have been gathered through Carlson’s private texts and emails.
Carlson alleges that Biden's NSA plans to leak Carlson’s communications in order to try and get his show - which is critical of Biden and Democrats - taken off the air.
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"Yesterday we heard from a whistleblower within the U.S. government who reached out to warn us that the NSA, the National Security Agency, is monitoring our electronic communications and is planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air,” Carlson said on Monday.
"The whistleblower, who is in a position to know, repeated back to us information about a story that we are working on that could have only come directly from my texts and emails.
"There’s no other possible source for that information, period. …
"The NSA captured that information without our knowledge and did it for political reasons.
"The Biden administration is spying on us.”
WATCH:
Tucker Carlson says a whistleblower told him that he is being spied on by the NSA and that he filed a FOIA request for information:
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 29, 2021
"The Biden administration is spying on us. We have confirmed that." pic.twitter.com/LY2vmDLFTK
McCarthy responded to the allegations by saying that he has noticed a “disturbing trend” unfolding at the National Security Agency (NSA) under the Biden administration.
"Earlier this year, I sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Austin expressing concern over the politicization of the Agency through the sidelining of Michael Ellis as NSA General Counsel,” McCarthy said.
"I asked that Mr. Ellis be reinstated and expressed my concern regarding undue political influence in NSA placing Mr. Ellis on administrative leave.
"Separately, it has recently come to my attention that NSA has refused to deliver information requested by the Republican Members on the House Intelligence Committee who are trying to fulfill their oversight responsibilities.”
"Now, there is a public report that NSA read the emails of Fox News host Tucker Carlson,” McCarthy added.
"Although NSA publicly denied targeting Carlson, I have serious questions regarding this matter that must be answered.
"Given this disturbing trend, I’ve asked HPSCI Ranking Member Devin Nunes to investigate and find answers on behalf of the American people.
"The NSA cannot be used as a political instrument, and House Republicans will ensure accountability and transparency."
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The NSA released a carefully crafted statement at the start of Carlson’s show on Tuesday disputing parts of what Carlson alleged.
The statement said:
On June 28, 2021, Tucker Carlson alleged that the National Security Agency has been “monitoring our electronic communications and is planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air.”
This allegation is untrue.
Tucker Carlson has never been an intelligence target of the Agency and the NSA has never had any plans to try to take his program off the air.
NSA has a foreign intelligence mission. We target foreign powers to generate insights on foreign activities that could harm the United States.
With limited exceptions (e.g. an emergency), NSA may not target a US citizen without a court order that explicitly authorizes the targeting.
Carlson responded to the NSA’s statement by saying that it was “an entire paragraph of lies written purely for the benefit of the intel community’s lackeys at CNN and MSNBC.”
Tucker addresses Psaki's refusal to deny his claim the NSA is spying on him in order to "intimidate" his show and discusses his "very heated" phone call earlier today with top NSA officials in which they refused to say whether or not they read his personal communications: pic.twitter.com/BMiFzbg92t
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 30, 2021
Carlson said that the NSA contacted him and refused to answer questions and refused to answer why they could not answer his questions.
