Ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson has claimed that ex-President Donald Trump is facing 37 federal felony counts due to opposing “the neocon war agenda.”
Trump attorney Todd Blanche pleaded not guilty on behalf of the former president during his arraignment in Miami, Florida, earlier in the day. Trump, who is accused of concealing classified documents after his presidency and attempting to obstruct justice, argued that he was the victim of a “rigged country” shortly after the hearing concluded.
Carlson, appearing Tuesday in the third episode of his Tucker on Twitter series, responded to the arraignment by suggesting without evidence that powerful figures from both major political parties were participating in a conspiracy to put Trump “behind bars for the rest of his life” due to his criticism of past wars and his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.
The former Fox News host called the prosecution of Trump “transparently political,” repeating a frequent claim of the former president’s by alleging that President Joe Biden was “using law enforcement to lock up his chief rival.” However, Carlson argued that the alleged conspiracy went beyond Biden, with supposedly pro-war Republicans also among Trump’s “persecutors.”
Ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson, left, is pictured at an event in Hollywood, Florida, on November 17, 2022, while former President Donald Trump, right, is shown after his arraignment in Miami, Florida. Carlson on Tuesday claimed that Trump is facing 37 federal felony counts due to his opposition of a “neocon war agenda.”
Jason Koerner; Alon Skuy
Carlson denounced former Trump allies including former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and Senator Lindsey Graham for “slobbering over” the ex-president “as if they were addressing a monarch or a god” before turning on him.
“They all called Trump a visionary genius up until the moment he lost power,” said Carlson. “And then they unsheathed their real agenda—as always, the neocon war agenda. And they piled on with maximum force.”
Carlson reserved his harshest criticism for Pompeo, denouncing him for undermining “Trump’s often stated commitment to peace and non-intervention abroad” after playing a clip of the former secretary of state saying that it was “wrong” for Trump to retain sensitive documents during a Fox News appearance earlier in the day.
“That very same Mike Pompeo, the one who’s sneering at Donald Trump on TV this morning, that guy served Donald Trump as both CIA director and as secretary of state … toadied up to Trump, a man he despised, in the oiliest, most over-the-top way imaginable,” Carlson said.
“Those of us who saw it firsthand, Pompeo’s relentless kowtowing, will never forget it,” he added. “It was indelibly repulsive.”
Carlson went on to argue that Trump’s indictment was “ideological,” asserting that the Washington, D.C., establishment was sending a “message” that any powerful figures who oppose war would be imprisoned.
“Nobody with Trump’s views is allowed to have power in this country,” Carlson said. “Criticize our wars and you’re disqualified. If you keep it up, we’ll send you to prison. That’s the message Washington is sending. Not just the Democratic Party is sending, but both parties are sending.”
“Trump is the one guy with an actual shot at becoming president who dissents from Washington’s long-standing pointless war agenda,” he continued. “And for that, that one fact, they’re trying to take Trump out before you can vote for him.”
The third episode of Carlson’s new show was uploaded to Twitter on Tuesday despite Fox News recently issuing its former host with a series of legal threats, reportedly including a cease and desist letter, arguing that he is violating the terms of an exclusive contract that he is still under.
The Department of Justice declined Newsweek’s request for comment. Newsweek has also reached out to the office of Trump via email for comment.
Update 06/14/2023, 4:08 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to reflect that the Department of Justice declined comment.
Source : Newsweek