Several hosts of The View on Monday suggested that the Department of Justice should investigate Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for peddling “Russian propaganda,” with one panelist even noting how in the past such transgressions may have resulted in arrest.
In recent days, both Gabbard and Carlson have been proponents of the theory that the United States could be developing dangerous bioweapons or pathogens in Ukraine—a centerpiece of a Kremlin disinformation campaign to justify the invasion of its neighbor and potentially blame a Russian chemical weapons attack on a false-flag operation. (Update: On Monday evening, Gabbard published a series of tweets in which she clarified that she doesn't believe biological weapons are being manufactured in Russia, but that she is concerned that labs researching potentially deady pathogens are operating in war zones.)
Clips of the ex-lawmaker on Carlson’s show saying she was "deeply concerned" about Ukrainian biolabs have been showcased across Russian state media, alongside the Fox News host saying “Russian disinformation” is “true.” Furthermore, it was reported this weekend that Moscow has pushed the state-controlled press to promote Carlson “as much as possible” because he “sharply criticizes the actions of the United States [and] NATO.”
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With Republican Sen. Mitt Romney calling out Gabbard on Sunday for “parroting false Russian propaganda” that “may well cost lives,” the women of The View took turns on Monday describing the former Democratic presidential candidate and the Fox News star as “apologists” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I think Mitt Romney is absolutely right, by the way. So what this is, is the Russians are spreading propaganda to try to create a pretext for potentially using chemical weapons against the Ukrainians,” said conservative guest host Alyssa Farah, a former Trump official who is now a CNN contributor. “They’re parroting what Tucker Carlson parrots on Fox News and Tulsi Gabbard is saying—it’s helping them get away with acts against Ukrainian civilians.”
Co-host Ana Navarro then weighed in, imploring the Fox board of directors to “step in” and say “we cannot be Russian state TV,” prompting fellow panelist Sunny Hostin to wonder aloud “what’s in it” for Carlson.
“Money,” liberal co-host Joy Behar chimed in.
“Is it money?” Hostin replied. “Who’s paying him that money? I’m not making any allegations, but it’s just—it doesn’t make sense that he would do this kind of thing. I mean, he also says that the United States helped encourage the Russian invasion.”
After Hostin checked off a number of pro-Russian talking points that the Fox host has peddled recently, Behar quipped: “I hope he’s planning to move to Moscow. He’s not going to be welcome here for much longer.”
Asserting that Carlson isn’t “getting dropped at all” by Fox News, Navarro went on to urge the Justice Department to probe Carlson, Gabbard and others. (Gabbard, by the way, was recently revealed to be the only American politician that received conations from an accused Russian agent.)
“I think DOJ, in the same way that it is setting up a task force to investigate Russian oligarchs, should look into people who are Russian propagandists and shilling for Putin,” she declared. “If you are a foreign asset to a dictator, it should be investigated, and, in fact, I remember when Tulsi Gabbard, and I hate that we’re discussing it because I think to myself, who is this woman? She’s a, you know, she’s no longer in Congress. She’s a failed presidential candidate.”
Navarro continued: “She only practically exists on Twitter, and if that is correct, we’re giving her oxygen is what makes her relevant, but we are talking about her on ‘Hot Topics.’ But on the other hand, how do you not call out something that is repeating false Russian propaganda and that has been brought down?”
Moderator Whoopi Goldberg, meanwhile, took Navarro's suggestion several steps further.
“They used to arrest people for doing stuff like this,” she exclaimed. “If they thought you were colluding with a Russian agent or putting out information or taking information and handing it over to Russia, they used to investigate stuff like this.”
She added: “And I guess now, you know, there seems to be no bars. And people are not being told to hate Putin. Putin doesn't need a reason to be hated. It’s pretty much clear.”
