Tucker Carlson Confirms He Sought Putin Interview, Claims NSA Wanted to Paint Him as a ‘Disloyal American’ and Russian ‘Stooge’

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson confirmed Wednesday night that he sought an interview with Vladimir Putin, and claimed that the NSA wanted to brand him as a Russian “stooge” by leaking his emails to journalists.

After Carlson made his initial claim about the NSA monitoring his communications last week, Axios reported Wednesday that Carlson was “talking to U.S.-based Kremlin intermediaries” to get an interview with the Russian president and U.S. government officials became aware of that outreach. “It is unclear why Carlson, or his source, would think this outreach could be the basis for NSA surveillance or a motive to have his show canceled,” Jonathan Swan wrote.

Carlson followed up hours later echoing what he claimed on Fox Business earlier in the day that the NSA leaked his emails to journalists “in an effort to discredit me.”

He told viewers yesterday he learned “sources in the so-called intelligence community told at least one reporter in Washington what was in those emails.”

Carlson confirmed that he did reach out to people to secure an interview with Putin, and said he told no one about this except for his executive producer.

He continued to say that the NSA planned to leak his emails to media outlets to “paint me as a disloyal American, a Russian operative — been called that before — a stooge of the Kremlin, a traitor doing the bidding of a foreign adversary.”

He told viewers he was “unmasked” and said NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone “should explain who asked for that unmasking.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.