Tucker Carlson Slams ‘Demented’ House Intel Committee Dems — Calls Attacks ‘McCarthyite’

Monday on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” host Tucker Carlson opened his show by slamming congressional Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee for those questioning the merits of their investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Carlson referred to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Intel Committee, and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), another member of that committee and called those attacks “McCarthyite.”

Transcript as follows:

CARLSON: The House Intel Committee just voted unanimously to release a Democratic countermemo, one that seeks to rebut the assertions in the four pages that Nunes released on Friday if you’re keeping up with this.

We should be able to see the new memo soon. And no matter what it says, that’s probably a good thing for everybody. For the first time of in generations, Americans have reason to believe that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies gravely misused the powers we have given them, violating the civil liberties of Americans and taking sides in political contests.

Well, you can’t trust a government that would do something like that and many Americans don’t. That is a disaster in a democracy, where the trust of the population is key.

Transparency is the only antidote to that. So, release all the documents, all relevant documents and let the rest of us decide what they mean. Maybe that will make us trust our government again. Nothing else will.

Well, Democrats disagree with that. Just last week, party leaders and their lackeys in the media were yelling at the rest of us about how releasing the Nunes memo would constitute a deadly threat to America. They said that for days.

And then, the memo came out. Whatever you think of the memo’s conclusions, you’ve got to be honest and concede there was not a single thing in there that you should not have been allowed to see. There were no classified weapons programs discussed, no names of secret agents revealed.

Democrats, it turns out didn’t want it released because it might embarrass them. So, on Friday, we spoke to California Congressman Eric Swalwell. He’s a member of the House Intelligence Committee, right in the center of this. And we asked him the obvious question.

None of this should have been secret in the memo. Why did you fight to keep it hidden? Well, Swalwell didn’t answer that question. Instead, he accused us of betraying our country.

Here’s part of the exchange we had.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: In the case of today’s memo, what specifically have I espoused that empowers threats to our country?

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D), HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: You are peddling the narrative that the Trump administration is putting out, which also is the Putin narrative because they are re-tweeting this with their Russian bots. You’re on the same side as WikiLeaks and Putin.

CARLSON: I wonder, do you perceive the total collapse –

SWALWELL: You should take a step back and wonder whose bidding are you really doing?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Whose bidding are you really doing?

So, for wanting to see the memo, we are treasonous agents of Vladimir Putin. You probably grew up reading about the McCarthy era where demagogues in Congress made baseless claims of foreign collusion, destroying the lives of American citizens in the process.

You probably didn’t think you’d live to see it happen again, but it has. About a year ago, we spoke to another Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff of California, and we asked him another obvious and straightforward question.

What evidence do you have that the Russian government hacked John Podesta’s email account? Often alleged, never proved. So, we pushed. Schiff got squirrelly. We pushed him again. Here’s what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Can you look right into the camera and say I know for a fact the government of Vladimir Putin was behind the hacks of John Podesta’s email?

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Absolutely. The government of Vladimir Putin was behind the hacks of our institution and the –

CARLSON: Of John Podesta’s emails?

SCHIFF: Not only in the United States –

CARLSON: Of John Podesta’s emails?

SCHIFF: But also in Europe.

CARLSON: OK. You’re not – you’re dodging this.

SCHIFF: And, Tucker –

CARLSON: Look and say, I know they did John Podesta’s email and they hacked us.

SCHIFF: And I think that Ronald Reagan will be rolling in his grave that you are carrying water for the Kremlin.

CARLSON: I’m not carrying water for the – look, you’re a sitting member of Congress on the intel committee, and you can’t say they hacked.

SCHIFF: You’re going to have to move your show to “RT”, “Russian Television”.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: Carrying water for the Kremlin. Disloyalty to America. Treason. In a single year on this show, we have been accused of betraying our own country by more than 20 percent of the Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee.

What is it about? Part of it, obviously, is politics of the most cynical kind. The Democratic base has been fed Russian conspiracy theories for months now, and they’re primed to believe literally anything on that subject.

Within hours of appearing on this show last week, Eric Swalwell was out raising money on our “attack on the rule of law.” Our questions weren’t an attack on the rule of law, by the way. Well, that dishonorable and untrue. But at least it makes a kind of sense in a sleazy Washington way.

But what if these guys are starting to believe the lies they tell? In a speech last week, Adam Schiff accused Russia of a crime so bizarre that even the most diabolical Soviet-era leaders never would have dared attempt it. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHIFF: They also trumpeted the Second Amendment. Apparently, the Russians are very big fans of our Second Amendment. They don’t particularly want a Second Amendment of their own, but they are really glad that we have one. The Russians would be thrilled if we were doing nothing but killing each other every day and sadly we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: So, if you’re following along at home, how determined are the Russians to destroy American democracy? Well, so determined says Congressman Schiff that they will even attempt to promote our own bill of rights.

Next thing you know, they would be printing the Federalist over the Slavic mind dastardly.

This is demented. And there’s no other word for it. It grows, of course, from our ruling class’ unwillingness to face the lessons of last year’s election. Voters rejected them. They can’t accept that. They blame Russia. We get it.

But at what cost, all of this? Schiff and Swalwell are not college professors. They’re not “CNN” anchors. They’re members of one of the most powerful and important committees in the Congress, one charged with overseeing our vast intelligence apparatus. They are supposed to be sober and thoughtful and smart. But they’re not.

Instead, if you dare ask an uncomfortable question, they accuse you of working for a hostile foreign dictator. Strictly speaking, that’s a death penalty offense, by the way.

This is your opposition party. These are the people who were supposed to be giving us an alternative to Trump, who they claim is too irresponsible to rule. But they are more irresponsible. And they are angrier. And they are more reckless. And most terrifying of all, they are poised to take power.

Nine months from right now, at the mid-terms, they may. Chances are, in fact, they will be running Congress again. These people. The ones who cavalierly accused fellow Americans of treason, who mock civil liberties, who believe the US Constitution itself is some kind of Russian ploy.

They will be in charge. Adam Schiff will be chairman of the intel committee. If there was an incentive for the Republicans to get their act together, seriously, and do it fast, you just saw it.

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor