U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has seen and heard enough. After Fox News host of Tucker Carlson tonight Tucker Carlson claimed the NSA was spying on him, Paul wants answers. Paul has sent a letter to Gen. Paul Nakasone of the National Security Agency demanding more information than the weak public “denial” letter that was issued recently.
Rand Paul is on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and thus has more resources and leverage to probe these allegations. Many including Paul believe Tucker Carlson has a constitutional right to privacy as a journalist and an American and wants to ensure there aren’t dirty dealings behind the scenes.
Rand Paul has asked to show that if Carlson’s information and name were indeed unmasked, where it was done and if was done lawfully. Tucker Carlson believes in part that a request to interview the Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been among the data swept up by the NSA. Additionally, he believes the Biden association is using the NSA to try to get him kicked off the air. Time will hopefully tell if these allegations are able to be proven true or not.
Although some say Carlson is just an opinion host, many on the right and many supporters of former President Trump feel he is the only one left on mainstream TV who still tells it “like it is” and stands up for the little guy. For this reason, many of Carlsons fans are likely to believe him and to continue supporting him throughout this debacle.
Many liberal organizations have indeed sought to have Carlson removed previously, especially before the 2020 election. Media Matters, Right Wing Watch, and others constantly “fact-check” Carlson, and many have labeled him a White Supremacist, a label which he denies.
We previously reported on the allegations of NSA spying on Carlson:
On Wednesday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson called for the revelation of the name of the individual that “illegally” unmasked him to allow NSA monitoring of his private communications. “Unmasking” occurs when an intelligence community decides to reveal the name of an American citizen that is in contact with foreign individuals that are currently under surveillance. Officials with specific security clearances can request unmasking of an individual if they have good reason to.
It was revealed publicly last year that the Obama administration was seeking to “unmask” former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn during the Russia investigation. Once Flynn’s private communications with the then-Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak were reported on by The Washington Post, Flynn resigned. The leaking of “unmasked” names to media outlets like The Washington Post or in Carlson’s case, Axios, is illegal as Carlson claims.
In his monologue last night, Carlson attacked the NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, demanding the name of the individual who illegally unmasked him. Carlson claims his identity should have been referred to internally as a “US journalist, or American journalist”.
