Tucker Carlson Has Interviewed Russia's President Putin Amid Controversy, Kremlin Says

Famed American journalist and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has interviewed Russia’s President Vladimir V. Putin amid the controversy surrounding his recent unannounced visit to Moscow, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri S. Peskov, said that Carlson had conducted the interview with Putin on Tuesday but did not clarify when Russia plans to release the interview. The interview lasted two hours and is slated to be published by Carlson soon.

The interview with Putin comes as the tranche of aid under the bipartisan immigration and Ukraine aid bill has not passed the Congress owing to the lack of approval from both sides of aisle. US President, Joe Biden pinned the blame for the delay on former President and the GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.

Why I'm interviewing Vladimir Putin. pic.twitter.com/hqvXUZqvHX

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson)

The Russian state press reported that Carlson has been in Moscow for several days, sharing footages recorded by the Russian citizens, who were also seen conversing with the American journalist about whether he’s in Moscow to interview Putin.

Carlson accuses US government of ‘trying to sabotage’ interview with Putin

Carlson, on numerous occasion, accused Biden administration of trying to sabotage his interview with Russian President Putin also alleging that the CIA resorted to desperate measures such as spying on him. He alleged that Biden administration “illegally” surveilled him and his text messages, leaking them to the media in order to deter him from interviewing Putin years ago.

In a footage on X, Carlson said, “Americans have a right to know” what Putin thinks about the war in Ukraine. The American journalist has been a strong critic of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, at a conference, derided Carlson’s claims as “ridiculous.” Initially, she told reporters in Washington that she would not comment on Carlson’s interview or claims, but  made a U-turn saying, “I actually want to go back to your question.” She continued, that Carlson’s statement was “a ridiculous premise and a ridiculous statement” about the Biden administration. She added, “So I just want to be very very clear — it’s just ridiculous.” 

Carlson first made the allegation against the US government in 2021, when he said that a whistleblower told him that the US National Security Agency was “monitoring our electronic communications and is planning to leak them in an attempt to take this show off the air.” At the time, the NSA denied the claims.