Tucker: The Pentagon is lying about bio labs in Ukraine

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Tucker: The Pentagon is lying about bio labs in Ukraine

Fox News host reacts to claims that the U.S. is funding biological programs in Ukraine on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'

This is a rush transcript of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on March 9, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Good evening and welcome to TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT.

If you had told us just four days ago that the Biden administration was funding secret bio labs in Ukraine of all places, we would not have believed you. Yes, I don't think we're going to put that on TV. No thanks.

Then if you told us that not only did the administration fund the secret bio labs in Ukraine, but that they then failed to secure the deadly contents of those labs before the Russian invasion, an invasion they knew was coming, an invasion they helped encourage, if you had told us that four days ago, we would have dismissed you as a nut.

It was just too preposterous. We will not want anything to do with a story like that. There's no way it could be true. It's too far out.

In any case, we already knew for a fact that that story was false. How do we know that? Because we read "U.S.A. Today," America's newspaper. Within hours of the Russian invasion, "U.S.A. Today" published a rebuttal to all those crazies who were yammering on about secret Ukrainian bio labs. Here was the headline: "Fact check: False claim of U.S. bio labs in Ukraine tied to Russian disinformation campaign."

So if you look carefully at the story, and we did, because we were interested, you notice that this fact check was sourced to Ukrainian government unnamed officials, and then Biden's State Department officials. So these were not exactly objective sources on the subject. But still, the story seemed definitive. It was totally emphatic quote, "Russia has teamed up with China to further amplify the false claim of U.S. labs in Ukraine."

Okay, "U.S.A. Today" says it is Russian disinformation. Maybe it is, on to the next story. But the fact checks didn't stop. That was weird. We kept seeing the same fact check again and again. It was almost like, despite endless official clarification, some people refused to believe the Biden administration. They preferred Russian propaganda instead.

We assumed they must be QAnon members. We assume that because "Foreign Policy" Magazine told us that.

According to "Foreign Policy," QAnon, whatever that is, was frantically disseminating, quote, "False claims of U.S. bio warfare labs in Ukraine." Those labs obviously didn't exist. It was all just another lie from the Russians who lie for a living.

Then the European Union weighed in, throwing its credibility behind the same claim. "These are conspiracy theories," the E.U. told us. They are lies spread by Putin. An E.U. spokesman then reminded us that, quote, "The credibility of information provided by the Kremlin is in general, very doubtful and low." That was good to know.

Quote, "Russian disinformation has a track record of floating manipulative narratives about biological weapons and alleged secret labs." Yes, we're not going to do a segment about secret labs in Ukraine. The last thing we want to do on this show is traffic in Russian disinformation spread by QAnon, so we took a pass on that story.

And that's where things stood until yesterday, when we had to tune into a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Toria Nuland was testifying so we were interested. Nuland is one of the people who brought us the Iraq War, never apologized for that, and kept getting promoted, because that's how D.C. works.

Victoria Nuland is now Joe Biden's Undersecretary of State in charge of Ukraine, and she knows a lot about Ukraine. In 2014 Toria Nuland engineered a coup in Ukraine in the name of democracy, of course. So she is the highly informed source about Ukraine.

So she was having this colloquy with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida during her testimony. And at one point, Rubio took attack that we were not expecting at all. He asked Nuland if Ukraine had biological weapons. We never imagined Ukraine would have biological weapons. Why would Ukraine have bio weapons?

So it seemed like a pretty strange question. But it wasn't half as shocking as the answer he got. Watch what Toria Nuland said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): Does Ukraine have chemical or biological weapons?

VICTORIA NULAND, U.S. UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Ukraine has biological research facilities, which in fact, we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Does Ukraine have biological weapons? Oh, Ukraine has biological research facilities. What? You mean secret bio labs like the secret bio labs Ukraine definitely doesn't have? Ukraine has those? Yes, it does.

And not only does Ukraine have secret bio labs, Toria Nuland said, whatever they're doing in those labs is so dangerous and so scary that she is quote, "quite concerned" that the so-called research material inside those bio labs might fall into the hands of Russian forces.

I am not trying to use profanity on the air to describe our reaction. Our jaws dropped. Let's leave it there.

Under oath in an open committee hearing, Toria Nuland just confirmed that the Russian disinformation they've been telling us for days is a lie and a conspiracy theory and crazy and immoral to believe, is in fact, totally and completely true. Whoa.

You don't hear things like that every day in Washington. Talk about a showstopper and a dozen questions instantly jumped to mind. What exactly were they doing in these secret Ukrainian bio labs?

Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe, it's hardly a hotbed of biomedical research. We're assuming these weren't pharmaceutical labs, probably not developing new leukemia drugs.

From your answer, Toria Nuland, we would assume because you all but said it that there is a military application to this research. They were working on bio weapons.

Again, your answer suggests that. Why would we fund something like that in Ukraine? And why didn't you secure the contents of these bio labs before the Russians arrived as you knew they would? And then why did you go out of your way to lie to the American public about all of this?

If the quote "research materials" in these labs were to escape somehow, and you seem very concerned about that, what would be the effect on Ukraine and then on the rest of the world? How can we prepare for the consequences of that, this thing that you're worried about? Shouldn't we be preparing?

Because as it turns out, we've just spent the last two years living with a pathogen to begin in another foreign bio lab funded by the United States government secretly. So this question is on our mind, it seems fair.

Now, that's some of what we would have asked if we were U.S. senators, which we're not, yes, there's a time limit, time limit it be damned, because this is kind of important.

But Rubio did not ask those questions. Instead, he changed the subject and told us once again that Vladimir Putin is bad. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: If there's a biological or chemical weapon incident or attack inside of Ukraine, is there any doubt in your mind that 100 percent it would be the Russians that would be behind it?

NULAND: There is no doubt in my mind, Senator, and it is classic Russian technique to blame on the other guy, what they're planning to do themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Okay, get a pen. It's a classic Russian technique to blame on the other guy, what they are planning to do themselves. That's what Toria Nuland said. We almost laughed out loud.

So what you're saying Toria Nuland? If, for example, you were funding secret bio labs in Ukraine, but wanted to hide that fact from the people who are paying for it, in whose name you're doing it, then you might lie about it by claiming the Russians were lying about it. In other words, you might mount a disinformation campaign by claiming the other guy was mounting a disinformation campaign.

Is that what you're saying, Toria Nuland?

It's pretty funny. What's not funny is that this is all entirely real.

We invited Marco Rubio on the show tonight to tell us what he knows about these bio labs. He declined to come. That invitation remains open.

In the meantime, let's review what little we do know about this. We're going to start with a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday. Now, we would never do this.

We had never played anything like this on the show before because of course, we're Americans and we want to know what's going on. We ask our own officials, the people we elect and whose salaries we pay because it's our country. We don't go to foreign sources, because we trust our own sources first.

But when it turns out the people who represent us and run our government are lying to us and never apologize for it and doing horrific things in our names, then you have to open your mind a little bit at least assess what other people are saying. So here was the Russian claim. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR GENERAL IGOR KONASHENKOV, CHIEF SPOKESMAN, MINISTRY OF DEFENSE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION (through translator): During the course of the special military operation, facts were uncovered that the Kyiv regime mopping up traces of military biological program under development in Ukraine, financed by the U.S. Defense Ministry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Okay, so that apparently -- we hadn't seen that until this afternoon when we started poking around. That may have been the root of the conspiracy theories that the fact checks told us were Russian disinformation.

Let's quote it: "Military biological programs are under development in Ukraine financed by the U.S. Defense Ministry." That's the Russian claim. Separately, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said the Ukrainians working on deadly pathogens including plague and anthrax, is that true?

Now obviously, we would not take Russia's word for that, ever. But we don't have to take Russia's word for that. The U.S. Defense Department has a website that contains this media clip about the opening of a biological research facility in Ukraine in 2010, quote: "U.S. Senator Dick Lugar applauded the opening of the Interim Central Reference Laboratory in Odessa, Ukraine this week announcing it will be instrumental in researching dangerous pathogens used by bio terrorists."

"The level-3 biosafety lab will be used to study anthrax, tularemia, and Q fever as well as other dangerous pathogens."

Oh, okay. Then the "National Pulse" dug up 2011 report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences that also explain that the Odessa-based laboratory quote, " ... is responsible for the identification of especially dangerous biological pathogens."

So what we're doing -- this is not the first time you've heard this story. We are funding the creation of deadly pathogens, so we can study them and prevent people from getting infected with them? Maybe? There are lots of examples of this.

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has a handy webpage explaining that American and Ukrainian scientists have worked on a whole bunch of different experiments like this. Some of the projects include work on African swine fever virus, hemorrhagic fever virus, and various avian respiratory viruses.

The interesting thing, the telling thing, is that the U.S. Embassy's website also contains links to factsheets about America's support for biological research in Ukraine, but all those links are now dead. That's weird.

It's our government, we pay for it. Again, they are there in our name, in the name of American citizens, but we can no longer read their webpage? How does that work exactly? They have no right to lie to us.

The webpage is archived thankfully, and the fact sheets show Defense Department funding to laboratories in Ukraine. So, that looks like proof. It's not Russian disinformation, it is totally real. Sorry, "U.S.A. Today," America's newspaper. It's real. You can look it up on the internet, if you want.

In the face of that evidence, the Pentagon is still lying about it. And in fact, they are repeating the same unbelievably stupid and now thoroughly discredited lies the fact checkers have told for weeks now. Here is the spokesman for the Pentagon, John Kirby today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY (RET.) PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: The Russian accusations are absurd. They're laughable. And you know, in the words of my Irish Catholic grandfather, a bunch of malarkey. There is nothing to it.

It's classic Russian propaganda. And, and I wouldn't -- if I were you, I wouldn't give it -- I wouldn't give it a drop of ink worth paying attention to.

QUESTION: Yes, but can you explain to us what -- has there been any relationship between the Pentagon --

KIRBY: We are not -- not -- developing bio logical or chemical weapons inside Ukraine. It's not happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: If I were you, I wouldn't devote a drop of ink to it. First of all, you didn't get to make that decision, Mr. Bureaucrat. We have a free press in this country. You don't get to decide.

But you'll notice at the end of that Kirby refuses to answer the question. Has there been a relationship between the U.S. Pentagon and a bio weapons facility in Ukraine? And if so, what is that relationship? That's Russian disinformation. What's the answer? We're not developing WMD in Ukraine right now. Okay, got it.

But why are we funding this? And what exactly are we funding? We reached out to the State Department separately, and they provided us with this very carefully worded statement, quote: "The U.S. Department of Defense does not own or operate biological laboratories in Ukraine." Not that anyone said they did.

Continuing to quote: "Undersecretary Nuland was referring to Ukrainian diagnostic and bio defense laboratories during her testimony, which are not biological weapons facilities." What's the difference exactly?

Continuing the quote, "These institutions counter biological threats throughout the country." End quote.

So that means nothing. You could describe our nuclear stockpile correctly as defensive. Our nuclear weapons are not designed to preemptively kill anybody. They're designed to prevent other people from killing us, but they're still nuclear weapons.

So when do you stop lying and telling us what's going on here, and why don't you more specifically tell us why you didn't secure these materials? So yes, we're funding secret bio labs in Ukraine, but they are diagnostic and bio defense laboratories to counter biological threats.

Okay, if these are purely defensive labs, why was Toria Nuland so concerned that Russians would get a hold of the materials from these facilities? Other world powers have come to the obvious conclusion. Again, we hate to do this, but under the circumstances, we asked our own spokespeople, they lied. We're going to the Foreign Ministry of China, a country we despise.

Here is what they said today. They're calling in weapons inspectors to take a look at these facilities in Ukraine right away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZHAO LIJIAN, SPOKESPERSON CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY (through translator): Over the past two decades, the United States has been blocking the establishment of a verification regime to the Biological Weapons Convention and refuse to accept the inspection of biological facilities within and outside its borders.

The move has further aggravated the concern of the international community. We once again urge the U.S. to provide full clarification of its bio militarization activities within and outside its borders and accept multilateral verification.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Oh, they are putting Russian and Chinese propaganda on the screen. Yes, we did. We also put U.S. government propaganda on the screen. And the difference is we expect to be lied to by foreign governments.

We're not globalists, we believe in one country, it's this country, the United States. We do not expect to be lied to by our government, and we won't accept it. But let's get to the substance of what the Chinese government just said, and we never agree with the Chinese government on anything.

But in this case, they make a fair point. We now know that dangerous biological agents, whether you call them weapons or not, is completely irrelevant, because they can be used as weapons. Is a gun or weapon? Not when you're quail hunting. When you're in a gunfight, it is. It's a ridiculous semantic debate.

Dangerous biological agents remain thanks to the Biden administration unsecured in a chaotic war zone.

At some point, we need to know how that happened. Who made those decisions? We have a right to know. And let's hope someone in Congress, probably not Marco Rubio, but someone else will get to the bottom of it.

But in the meantime, we pray that somewhere in the United States government, there as an adult who cares enough to get this situation under control immediately.

One of the few adults we know in the foreign policy realm is Tulsi Gabbard, the former Member of Congress from Hawaii and we're happy to have her join us tonight.

Congresswoman, thanks so much for coming on.

TULSI GABBARD, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Thanks, Tucker.

CARLSON: So it's without even going into what they told us was Russian disinformation that is actually true, how concerned are you that Toria Nuland, who is overseeing this war has just admitted there are unsecure bio agents -- dangerous bio agents in Ukraine?

GABBARD: I'm extremely concerned as should be every American and everyone in the world. The seriousness of this situation really can't be overstated.

First of all, she didn't say no when she was asked by Marco Rubio about there being biological or chemical weapons in Ukraine.

CARLSON: Yes.

GABBARD: So if there were or are, obviously that would be a violation of the Biological Weapons Convention. Number two, they categorically have been trying to hide this as you've laid out very, very well. And then once they were found out, rather than saying: Hey, you know what, this is a critical emergency, it's a crisis. We have these pathogens in the midst of a warzone, not just in one location, but between 20 and 30 labs in Ukraine. This is a global crisis, we're going to take action immediately.

This is how a responsible leader would react given the crisis of this moment, but instead, what did they do?

Her response to Senator Rubio was immediately start pointing fingers. We're going to preemptively start the blame game should anything happen to these pathogens, and who knows what is going on in these labs. Before anything bad happens, just say, you know what? It's the bad guys. It's the bad guys who are responsible for this.

It is the height of irresponsibility, their response to this. The fact that they are covering it up, the fact that they aren't doing really what needs to be done because unless this war in Ukraine ends right now, ends tonight, we face a very real certainty that one or more of these labs will be compromised, will be breached and it won't just be the people of Ukraine who are impacted. We could face another quite global crisis, when you look at a pathogen that could be released. We just went through this with COVID. We can't have forgotten this already.

CARLSON: And once again, agencies in the U.S. government without our knowledge are secretly funding research that imperils the world and no one is ever punished for it.

So speaking of no one ever punished, I wanted to get reaction to this. Twenty seven foreign policy heavyweights just signed an open letter calling for what they call a quote "limited no-fly zone" over Ukraine. Some of the people who signed it include former NATO Allied Supreme Commander Phil Breedlove, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker, et cetera et cetera. What exactly are they proposing? And is it a wise idea, do you think?

GABBARD: It is not. Just one last thing on the danger of these labs that the U.S. is funding not only in Ukraine and around the world. They need to be shut down immediately.

CARLSON: Yes.

GABBARD: They need to be shut down immediately. They are insecure. They are posing a threat to the world. They need to be shut down immediately.

On the no-fly zone that's being proposed and encouraged by these so-called foreign policy experts. Look they're trying to act tough, Tucker. They're trying to say, we've got to do something and I get it. There is so much suffering that we're seeing on our televisions all day and all night.

And I get that the American people are frustrated because we want to see this end. Instead of our leaders doing the responsible thing and saying, okay, let's do our best to try to facilitate a negotiated outcome to actually end this conflict, a window of opportunity that President Zelenskyy opened up, you know, what, just 24 to 36 hours ago. Instead of doing that, they are focused on: Hey, let's just do something, look tough, enact a no-fly zone, which would not help the Ukrainian people, it would make things worse.

It's not going to help the American people, it'll make things worse. It'll drastically escalate this crisis and put our pilots directly against Russian pilots, putting us in conflict at war with Russia, the other nuclear armed power pushing us, shoving us towards this brink of nuclear catastrophe and nuclear war that would destroy the world.

CARLSON: Yes. And Ukraine, save Ukraine by destroying it.

GABBARD: And Ukraine. Exactly and Iraq, Libya, Syria, that the list goes on and on. We've got to learn from these lessons and stop this madness.

CARLSON: So, we're just getting this from the State Department. This is a tweet and I want to -- I'm reading this cold, but I want to run a bite.

"The United States does not have chemical or biological weapons labs in Ukraine." Then they put up a graphic that read: "The U.S. is in full compliance with its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention not to develop or possess biological weapons anywhere."

I can see about four holes in that. So if you were -- I mean, so they're telling us they don't own any bio labs in Ukraine. I don't remember -- I mean, one of the tells to lying is when you answer a question no one asked. I don't think anyone is suggesting the U.S. government owns bio labs there, right?

GABBARD: Exactly. That's right. That's right. But you pointed to evidence, and we've seen through different parts of the world. We saw in China how the U.S. is funding this research or these labs to the tune of hundreds around the world. Why? That question has never been asked or answered by them.

Why is this research something that that is so critical, not done in secure labs within the United States? Why is this research being outsourced? There are so many different questions here, and all of it points back to really the risk that this is posing.

Again, this is something that is fresh in our memories. And if they have nothing to hide, why are they trying so hard to hide it?

CARLSON: Well, that's it. Well, they've already admitted it. I mean, the Undersecretary of State just admitted it under oath yesterday. So like --

GABBARD: That's right.

CARLSON: Let's not let them pretend that this is like we're carrying Putin's water again, or -- they are such liars.

I appreciate having an honest person on the show. It's such a relief. Tulsi Gabbard, thank you.

GABBARD: Thank you.

CARLSON: FOX News Alert for you. Major explosions, apparently going off in Ukraine. It is just before 3:30 in the morning there.

Lucas Tomlinson is in Ukraine force live tonight. Lucas, what do you see?

LUCAS TOMLINSON, FOX NEWS CHANNEL PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Tucker, U.S. officials say Russian forces have fired over 700 missiles into this country and are increasingly targeting civilians.

The following video you're about to see, some might find disturbing showing a rocket attack in southern Ukraine.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

TOMLINSON: On the other side of the country to the northeast, near the border with Russia. This city of 1.5 million is surrounded, according to U.S. and British Intelligence.

Out of the two million people that have fled this country, about five percent of the population in the past two weeks since the war started, one million are children. The U.N. says over three dozen children have been killed, 50 are wounded.

Now as the sanctions against Vladimir Putin have increased, he has put even more troops into this country. Officials tell me this war is going to drag on for years -- Tucker.

CARLSON: Ah, that's so sad to hear it. I bet it's true though. Lucas Tomlinson, thank you so much for that. "Drag on for years." Well, you can certainly see that happening and no one in this country is doing anything to stop it, in fact, probably making it much worse.

So who is benefiting from all of this? Ukraine is not benefiting? The United States is not benefiting. China, maybe uniquely in the world is benefiting.

In the past few months, China has signed a series of new trade deals and shipping arrangements with Russia, which has the energy China needs. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have never been closer than they are now, thanks to a disastrous series of diplomatic screw ups that almost seem intentional.

As this continues to develop, as China become stronger with every misstep from the Biden administration, you have to wonder, will China invade Taiwan? And what happens when that happens?

Steven Mosher is the author of "Bully of Asia: Why China's Dream is the New Threat to World Order," he joins us tonight to assess. Steven Mosher, thanks so much for coming on.

I mean, I believe we've talked about this before that pushing Russia to China is a disaster for American interests. That seems very obvious. That's happened it seems like. We're done. Like story over. They are now a bloc against us, no?

STEVEN MOSHER, AUTHOR, "BULLY OF ASIA": Yes, well, our policy was always to keep Russia and China divided, and the fact that they are now uniting against us is bad news for the United States of America and for the West in general.

Look, the big winner out of this is not Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Putin may pick up a little bloody piece of Ukraine at the end of the day, he is going to be weaker as a result. And he is going to be more dependent on one of the people who provoked this fight to begin with and that person is Xi Jinping.

Because Xi Jinping, according to the ancient Chinese stratagem is sitting on the top of the mountain and watching the tigers fight, and he encouraged the Russian bear or the tiger to go into Ukraine, and he is watching the results.

And the results favor him in all areas. They favor him because Russia is now dependent upon the Chinese market to sell its wheat, to sell its oil, natural gas. They signed agreements.

You mentioned, they signed 15 different agreements on the day that Vladimir Putin came to Moscow at the beginning of the Winter Olympics. They approved the importation of Russian wheat and we know that these negotiations didn't happen on the day that Vladimir Putin got there. Right? They were months in the making.

And we know that because of the shipping agreement, three and a half months ago, almost four months ago, the Russians and the Chinese agreed that once they bought -- the Chinese bought Russian grain or Russian commodities, that China owned it.

And so the shipping, the delivery of the commodities was all on China. So you can't do what? You can't embargo them. You can't sanction them. You can't take them away from Russia, because they no longer belong to Russia. They belong to China. Very clever. It happened almost four months ago. That's a tell that they were conspiring even then.

So the real Russian collusion is not between someone in the United States who shall not be named, but between China and Russia, and it's very, very far advanced.

CARLSON: We're going to look back on this moment. We are all so mesmerized by the pictures of Ukraine on the screen and realize there is a lot else going on and it was a tragedy. It was a tragedy in World History, I think.

Steven Mosher, I appreciate your perspective. Thank you.

MOSHER: Thank you.

CARLSON: There is a war underway in Ukraine and it is a very sad and awful thing. We're monitoring it, fighting remains underway.

Also a fourth generation farmer joins us to remind us that the ban on Russian oil is not an attack on Putin. He's got a market for his oil in China. It's an attack on Americans. That farmer joins us next.

Plus a "New York Times" reporter makes a stunning private admission bout the F.B.I.'s involvement in January 6th. Wait. Is he a QAnon conspiracy nut? No, he's a national security reporter for "The New York Times." Amazing story. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: So on January 6 of this year, "The New York Times" did a big Page One look back at the riot at the U.S. Capitol, a retrospective. Quite long, quite intense. That piece was triple bylined.

One of the reporters was a man called Matthew Rosenberg, apparently he is a national security reporter there. The piece was called "The Next Big Lies: January 6 was No Big Deal or a Left-Wing Plot."

So the piece spent a lot of time attacking this show. Here's part of it, quote: "Mr. Carlson has emerged as a leading proponent of January 6 revisionism, (catch that revisionism), most prominently with his three-part 'Patriot Purge' series. Carried on the FOX Nation streaming service, it amplified a debunked false flag conspiracy theory that the F.B.I. had instigated the violence as a pretext to lock away peaceful, but concerned Americans because of their political views, creating a class of Patriot martyrs."

"On Thursday night, Carlson aired excerpts from 'Patriot Purge' on his primetime show spreading these conspiracy theories to one of the largest audiences on cable. Mr. Carlson's relentless promotion of the series and the ensuing silence from FOX News management recently prompted two longtime conservative contributors at the network to quit in protest and contributed to the exit of Chris Wallace, the longtime news anchor."

Okay, so we're completely out of control, spreading conspiracy theories about how the F.B.I. was on the scene on January 6th, totally debunked and discredited.

That was the word from Matthew Rosenberg on the front page of "The New York Times." So recently, Project Veritas went out and honey trapped the guy apparently, got a young woman, drinks and videotaped Matthew Rosenberg talking in private and now, we have mixed feelings about those kinds of tactics, but it's kind of fascinating what Matthew Rosenberg says when he doesn't think people are listening.

In fact he explained the F.B.I., and he would know, had a quote "Ton of informants" in the crowd on January 6. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW ROSENBERG, JOURNALIST, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Like you could tell about how much fun we [NYT staff] had on January 6.

PROJECT VERITAS JOURNALIST: Oh, that's great.

ROSENBERG: Which is --

PROJECT VERITAS JOURNALIST: Are you allowed to have that much fun on January 6th? Aren't you supposed to be mourning?

ROSENBERG: I know. I know. I'm supposed to be traumatized. But like all these colleagues who were in the [Capitol] Building and they're young and are like, "Oh my God, it was so scary." I'm like, "[Bleep] off."

PROJECT VERITAS JOURNALIST: Is that really the vibe there?

ROSENBERG: From them [young NYT colleagues]. I'm like, come on. It's [NYT] not the kind of place I can tell somebody to man up, but I kind of want to be like, "Dude, come on. Like you were not in any danger."

We're [NYT] the ones, not FOX, not Breitbart who actually went and uncovered the fact that like, there were a ton of F.B.I. informants amongst the people who attacked the Capitol. That was us [NYT], not the right-wing guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Oh, they uncovered that there quote, "a ton" of F.B.I. informants in the crowd on January 6th? I don't remember reading that in "The New York Times." We read it on Revolver News, which is edited by Darren Beattie. His outlet was the first to document that there were a ton of F.B.I. people in the crowd on January 6th, a ton and he was denounced for it, and so were we.

Darren Beattie joins us tonight.

Darren, thanks so much for coming on. Congratulations, not that you need to be vindicated by "The New York Times," the paper that defended Joseph Stalin. However, it must feel kind of nice to see this guy admit that you were right all along.

DARREN BEATTIE, REVOLVER NEWS: It's nice, and it's amusing. And what it shows is that "The New York Times," at least certain reporters are not as ignorant as we thought, simply maybe even a little bit more duplicitous than we thought.

The whole expose by Veritas is fascinating. It's fascinating to hear this individual trash his colleagues. It's not just the presence of F.B.I. informants, the whole notion that it was this grand insurrection is something that he rightly at least in private, dismisses as ridiculous and ridicules his colleagues who are dumb enough to believe it. It's quite a remarkable piece of footage.

CARLSON: But you have to wonder if you're a national security reporter at "The New York Times," and you find out there were a ton of F.B.I. people in the crowd, doesn't that kind of demand a follow up? Don't you have a moral obligation to find out like: What the hell is that? Who are these people? Why haven't they been arrested? What was the federal government's role in this, quote, "insurrection"? Why aren't they writing that story?

BEATTIE: Well, it's a great question and they seem resolutely uninterested in exploring this other than the occasional exception to do damage control when certain tidbits of the truth come out and it is particularly important revelation coming right at the heels of the Michigan kidnapping trial, which is we see the defense in that case, it was so infiltrated by the Feds that they're actually going to use an entrapment defense.

And so there are so many unanswered questions. There is still the Ray Epps issue, which has gotten no answer. And all these people can do is apparently acknowledge it's all right in private, and then do nothing, do nothing with their sources in order to expose the truth to the American people.

CARLSON: Just really quick, is it obvious to you that the more loudly they scream, the more aggressive they get? They did this after the death of George Ford. They did this after January 6. They are it doing now with Ukraine.

It seems like there's a connection between their self-righteousness, their aggression, and their duplicity. The louder they yell, the more they're lying. That's what it seems like.

BEATTIE: Absolutely. They've been extremely vicious protectors of this narrative, because it's so important to them. The whole lie about January 6 is used to justify the repurposing of the National Security state domestically against the American people.

If they lose that narrative, they lose that agenda, and they can't stand to have that happen.

CARLSON: You'd think Kevin McCarthy might sort of clue into this? Do you know what I mean? If like Liz Cheney is screaming about January 6, and then she is screaming about Ukraine, like maybe take a step back, what's going on here, Kevin McCarthy? But no one seems to think that way. Weird.

Darren Beattie. We are grateful that you do. Thank you for your reporting.

BEATTIE: Thank you.

CARLSON: So we analyzed the presence of Federal informants on January 6th for our three-part investigation on "Tucker Carlson Originals" "Patriot Purge," the one that "The New York Times" denounced as a conspiracy theory.

We got FOX people to quit. Okay.

We spoke to a security analyst called Michael Waller. He spent years working as professional agitator during the Cold War for the U.S. government. He told us that the storming of the U.S. Capitol was a coordinated event. It resembled his own training.

In case you haven't seen it. Here's part of what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: The media and Democratic Party leaders created the environment that made the January 6 violence all but inevitable. But were there other agitators there that day?

Someone who might know is security analyst, J. Michael Waller. For years, Waller worked as a professional agitator.

J. MICHAEL WALLER, SECURITY ANALYST: And my area of specialization has been political warfare, psychological warfare, and subversion. During the Cold War, I infiltrated Soviet international front organizations for the purpose of causing provocations that would discredit the Soviets.

And so we actually managed to provoke a fight to break out at the World Peace Council conference that the Soviets have been sponsoring in Europe. So we had the headline in "The Boston Globe," "Fight breaks out at World Peace Conference."

January 6 was a political warfare operation. Having been trained by professional agitators in the past, I saw that this is a coordinated effort that there are different cadres of agents, provocateurs, and other troublemakers who had a sort of a military like precision in what was to become a storming of the Capitol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So that was from "Patriot Purge," denounced by "The New York Times," turns out unfairly. You can watch the whole thing right now on FOX Nation. You can get it for free at tuckercarlson.com.

So gas prices have never been higher. Instead of increasing domestic oil production, our leaders have been busy begging other countries, in some cases pretty loathsome countries for help.

Recently, Joe Biden personally reached out to the leaders of Saudi Arabia to beg them for oil, but they didn't return his call. Oh, has America's place in the world shifted? Have we been reduced by the last 13 months? Yes.

Maybe you're getting the impression that our leaders don't really want to solve this gas crisis in the first place. Well, we have confirmation for you tonight that that is absolutely true.

Here is the Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm of Michigan performing in a music video filmed a couple of years ago. In the performance, she sings hopefully, that gas will disappear in this country entirely. Watch this.

[VIDEO CLIP OF "SOUND ACTIVISM" FROM 2018 PLAYS]

CARLSON: So decadent. So stupid. Gasoline is a miracle. It's been a blessing for this country and for the world. It's one of the most highly concentrated forms of energy ever created.

If you think it's not a big deal, you're an idiot, and malicious.

But keep in mind, these are the people who are blaming Vladimir Putin for the price of gas. Stephanie Nash understands what this is really about. She's a fourth generation dairy farmer at the Nash Family Creamery. She joins us tonight.

Stephanie, thanks so much for coming on. So, you're actually producing something in this country that people need, unlike the people you just want the video. How do you feel about the rising in energy prices?

STEPHANIE NASH, FOURTH GENERATION DAIRY FARMER, NASH FAMILY CREAMERY: Yes, I think it's a pivotal point in our country. You know, coming from California, I saw how Pelosi really attacked the agriculture industry. And now their response to gas and diesel, high inflation is: We're not going to let up on regulations. We're not going to back off of our clean energy investment.

Americans, it's an investment to them. It's not about making the earth a better place or our economy. They could care less about doing that. All they want is an investment. Money back in their pockets in Washington, D.C. And I think it's really an idea and a subject that we don't talk about in the largest industry, and that is agriculture.

CARLSON: If they cared about the environment, California would be clean, not dirty. It's dirtier than it's ever been, thanks to them. Is this -- I mean, this will imperil the ability of people to farm, will it not?

NASH: Oh, yes. We're already seeing an increase in farm inputs and talking about Russia, they are a huge impact in fertilizer. Ukraine is a huge impact in wheat. And so the American farmers or ranchers in this country are really wanting this administration to own up to their mistakes. They are not taking care of the American people, our food supply, our food security.

All they could care about is their investments again, and running the country they want to run and not for our American economy.

CARLSON: But I mean, if the farms all go under, we can still get food from Uber Eats, right? Come back and let us know, Stephanie, thank you for that actual fact check. Good to see you.

NASH: Thanks.

CARLSON: We've got a FOX News Alert for you. You're looking at video just into us from Kyiv showing air raid sirens going off a few moments ago.

This is obviously part of a much larger story and a very confusing one. Maps help a lot. Bill Hemmer is a master of the map and we're happy to have him join us tonight. Hey Bill.

BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL ANCHOR: Nice to see you, Tucker. We like maps, right? It kind of gives us an idea of what's happening out there given the state of play right now. I know you're very interested in this convoy and for good reason. But frankly, Tucker, about two weeks in the convoy, it really hasn't moved.

Remember it came from the north and it stopped right around this location here. I'll just clear this off and advance the map one time and give you a better idea.

This is the airport northwest of the city. That's as far as the convoy got some 12 days ago. They haven't moved since. Tucker, if the city center is this direction, that's about 20 miles as the bird flies to reach here.

Now a lot of analysts are suggesting that Russian air cover is what is protecting these supply lines and the convoy from being hit by the Ukrainian Air Force. So right now, it's still intact. So that's what's happening here in the northern part of the country.

And really, Putin's army is moving in from the east, Tucker. It's largely countryside. They can move pretty easily. But again, they're getting close to the capital city.

I would say based on some of the video I saw online last night, some of those tanks on the east side are getting within 16 miles to the east and north of the capital city of Kyiv.

The other big story here in the south, you were showing that video a moment ago about this maternity hospital that was bombed, just devastating video, Tucker.

That was in Mariupol, they've been under siege for the past seven days, just constant shelling. Who is to say what is left of that town as we stand here tonight? Two hundred thousand people they say want to get out of there and they can't. I mean, it just must be awful conditions there.

In the west, you see Odessa has not been touched. There's a reason for that, possibly. And that is because Mykolaiv right now, about 80 miles to the east is taking fire by the Ukrainian army. They are holding them off so far. But we'll see at some point whether or not Putin's army can advance. So that is the state of play, Tucker, on Day 14 tonight.

Back to you.

CARLSON: Bill Hemmer, great to see you tonight. Thank you for that.

You may have noticed that everyone you see on TV has exactly the same opinion of Ukraine and in fact, exactly the same opinion of everything. Those opinions are formed on Twitter, which you probably don't use since you don't work in journalism, thank God.

But then they are repeated to the public who are expected to assume those opinions as well, thinking for yourself is no longer allowed. It is interesting to talk to people who are outside of that closed information loop, rational, clear-headed people whose priorities are their family and the country.

And that's why last night, we spoke to a man called Bryce Mitchell. He is a cattle farmer, a UFC fighter who is from the State of Arkansas. And he articulated very clearly with no pretense at all, why a lot of people in this country have no interest in fighting a war against Russia over Ukraine.

Here's part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Now, people who say what you have said are often denounced as unpatriotic or traitors to their country. Does that confuse you since that the first thing you said was, I will fight and die for Arkansas?

BRYCE MITCHELL, UFC FIGHTER: That would be the greatest honor I could ever have, brother, so I'm far from not being a patriot, you know. That would be the greatest thing I could do is I die defending this land. So I'm not afraid to do that.

I'm just not wanting to go waste my life fighting for some of these battles that I don't even believe in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So Bryce Mitchell is not a coward, we can establish that right there. Obviously, he is a UFC fighter. Second, he said very clearly, there's no reason not to believe him, he'd be happy to die, it would be an honor he said to die for the people and country that he loves. He does not want to die in a war with a nuclear power over an obscure country in Eastern Europe, he can't find on a map.

So that's a pretty simple principle. It's a time honored principle, not just in this country, but in every other country. You send people to war when your real interests are threatened.

But in Washington, that idea is heresy. These are the people about to spend another $15 billion of American tax money not on Texas, not on fixing homelessness, not on helping the families whose children have died of fentanyl overdoses because of the open border that we have, but they are going to send it to defense contractors to defend a country's border on the other side of the world.

So people like the man you just saw are a huge threat to the tiny minded Members of Congress like Adam Kinzinger who are doing things that do not serve this country in any way.

So Kinzinger was completely triggered by the interview and he went on Twitter, which is media and wrote this quote: "Oh my Lord. This is America. By the way, 'I'll fight when the war comes to Arkansas ...' What? The World War Two generation would love to slap him, I'm sure. This is a new way to support Putin without being so obvious."

Kinzinger continued. "Side note to this kid. Please just stay here and entertain. No one is asking you to fight for your country. There are far braver men and women that will do that even in Arkansas." Really? Where are these men and women who are far braver than the man we interviewed last night? We'd love to know.

Adam Kinzinger is always invited on the show, any time. We'll give him the hour. Mr. Tough Guy.

Well, Ilhan Omar is a sitting Member of Congress, represents Minnesota. She's only been there a short time. She has made a lot of noise. She is very angry at the United States. But there is hope for the people of Minnesota.

A former NBA player called Royce White is running against Ilhan Omar. Royce White joins us now.

Mr. White, thanks so much for coming on tonight. I haven't talked to you before. Excited to do it. Why are you running against Ilhan Omar?

ROYCE WHITE, CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE OF MINNESOTA: Well, thank you for having me, Tucker. I really appreciate the time.

CARLSON: Of course.

WHITE: And I am just going to cut straight to the chase.

Look, this country is in a crisis, and the only way we can save it is through restoring our faith in God and our national honor. Now, we have to give people security and opportunity.

But we have to do it through American constitutional values. Freedom being the cornerstone. Freedom being the cornerstone and we can see that there is an attack on our freedoms, but we also have to do it through truth, okay? And the truth is that the global affects the local, okay? The global affects the local.

Now, Minnesota is my home. My family has been here for five generations. I was born and raised here. I have a deep, deep affection for the state of Minnesota, the Twin Cities, my community and this country. But the reality is, we've been lied to.

We've been misrepresented. We've been misled by the Democrats, by the liberal establishment, by the uniparty that sold us on this fantasy of globalism, which is just another way to attack the American working class.

CARLSON: Yes.

WHITE: Right? And listen, all I can say is that Ilhan Omar is in on it. They've sold us out. Our leadership has sold us out.

CARLSON: She is in on it. That is it. So when Omar and the rest of her friends came into Congress, they posed as radicals. We're going to shake things up. But within about 10 minutes, they were flacking for Google and Nancy Pelosi. I mean, they are -- they're part of the system. In fact, some of the people who run the system, it seems like. Is that your impression?

WHITE: Well, listen, the telltale sign for me is the Fed. Okay, the Congress is supposed to regulate the Fed. The Congress is supposed to balance this budget. And these people have either been too cowardly or too corrupt to do so.

I mean, everybody knows or should know that Wall Street is running the Fed, and the Fed is regulating the Congress. We're living in the United States of the Federal Reserve, and I hear Ilhan Omar and these people talk about these progressive policies. But when push comes to shove, they will sell us out.

I come from a history where I fought the NBA and the establishment, around mental health policy and about this -- around this idea that there is a global corporate community and that there's something very wrong with this global corporate community.

And I got an offer to sellout. I got an offer to shut my mouth and go along to get along and I couldn't take it and I would never accept an offer to sell us out. I can't say the same for Ilhan Omar and many of these politicians.

CARLSON: Man, that is not a typical campaign pitch. That's really interesting. And I appreciate your telling us that tonight.

Royce White, we will be watching carefully. Thank you.

So lots going on in Ukraine, obviously, and we're trying to bring you some of it. But in the middle of that, it is important to think through how what's happening there will affect us here.

Dan Holloway served in Iraq, spent -- left a lot of himself there and we had a long conversation with him about that question. What will this war mean for America? We will bring some of that to you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CARLSON: What's happening in Ukraine is complicated and we're looking for wise voices to understand it.

For a new episode of "Tucker Carlson Today," we spoke to Iraq war veteran, Dan Holloway. He told us why it's important above all for our leaders to put America's interests first as we assess Ukraine. Here is part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN HOLLOWAY, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: We never know how these things are going to turn out.

CARLSON: That's right.

HOLLOWAY: But we can make educated decisions and nobody with any kind of education or foreign policy chops, which by the way, was the number one reason Biden gave for electing him the office. That was the number one -- I've got the foreign -- I've been doing this for a long time.

CARLSON: Right.

HOLLOWAY: Poroshenko in 2014, working things out, but he has completely failed at all of this. He gave the biggest bullet we had in our arsenal over to Vladimir Putin and expected him to what -- treat it with respect? And Europe did the same thing. What did they expect what is going to happen?

He is the architect of all of the stuff we're seeing right now through his incompetence and weakness. And now, they're on parade trying to blame everybody else for their problems and if you disagree, then you're a Russian dissident or agent.

It's nonsense, right? This is like classical psychological operations and we're just living through it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Dan Holloway, the whole interview is on FOX Nation. You can go to tuckercarlson.com to get it.

We're out of time tonight. We're grateful that you tuned in. We'll be back tomorrow and every weeknight to assess really a world in distress.

Have a wonderful evening with the ones you love. We're going to turn you over now for the 9:00 PM our to our friend Sean Hannity. Here he is.


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