Senior White House officials pushed back on claims that the CIA is investigating far-right podcaster Tucker Carlson, denying that the agency is taking action against the former Fox News host.
On Sunday, Carlson released a five-minute video message alleging that the CIA has opened an investigation into his ties to Iran, claiming that the agency is working on a criminal referral to the Justice Department over alleged Foreign Agents Registration Act violations.
“The other day, I found out that the CIA is preparing some kind of criminal referral against me, a crime report to the Department of Justice on the basis of a supposed crime I committed,” Carlson said.
The 56-year-old pundit claimed the probe was ordered in response to his criticism of the State of Israel.
“There are some people who are mad at me for my views about Israel, and they have some latitude,” he said.
Last year, Carlson interviewed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, sparking controversy after critics noted he failed to even mention Iran’s numerous human rights abuses, its nuclear program, or its plots to assassinate President Donald Trump.
By Sunday night, however, senior Trump administration officials denied Carlson’s allegation that the CIA had read his private messages, rejecting the podcaster’s claims of an investigation.
According to a report by Axios, multiple top administration officials said that there is no CIA investigation of Carlson and that the CIA is not referring a case against Carlson to the Department of Justice, the National Security Agency, or any other federal law enforcement, intelligence, or security body.
Carlson’s explosive claim fueled speculation online that President Donald Trump knowingly fed Carlson false information regarding his intentions vis-à-vis Iran during a February 11 White House meeting, knowing that Carlson would pass on Trump’s claims to Iran that the US was not planning strikes.
But the officials cited in the Axios report emphasized that Trump did not try to mislead Carlson during their White House meeting.
The two “politely disagreed,” the report said, with the president insisting that Iran posed a threat to the United States.
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