Tucker Carlson: Dem Reps Schiff, Himes ‘Must Recuse Themselves’ From Russia Investigation — Including Appearances on MSNBC’s Primetime Lineup

Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” host Tucker Carlson called out Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, for a 2013 appearance on Russia state-owned RT, which has been deemed an arm of Russian propaganda by the U.S. government.

He also pointed to audio of Schiff apparently showing a willingness to work with pranksters posing as Ukrainians for dirt on President Donald Trump and concluded that Schiff and his colleague Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) should recuse themselves from the House of Representatives inquiries into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Partial transcript as follows:

Yesterday, we showed you the terrifying extent to which Vladimir Putin’s sinister tendrils have encircled the American body politic, crushing the very life from this republic.

Russian agents are so intent on undermining our democracy, they’ve taken to promoting our own Bill of Rights back to us. The Second Amendment specifically.

Now, we’ll admit, we are not exactly sure how that’s bad. But Adam Schiff has assured us that it is. And because Schiff is a prominent member of Congress and often appears on cable news, we believe him.

Now, tonight, we’ve learned that the foreign subversion goes even deeper than that. The Russian conspiracy is so subtle, so crafty, such a bewildering Slavic hall of mirrors that the people warning us about Russia are, in fact, key players in the Russian conspiracy. The leaders of the witch-hunt are witches.

Sound impossible? Listen to this. Last year, the director of national intelligence released the definitive report on Russia propaganda efforts in this country. The main focus of that report was the Russian cable channel RT America, which is funded and controlled by the Putin government.

In the words of our intelligence community, RT engages in “anti-US messaging likely aimed at undermining viewers trust in US democratic procedures.”

Our government considers RT so dangerous that the channel has been forced to register as a foreign agent. RT employees who fail to register could face prison time. No outlet in this country has ever been forced to do that. RT is a sinister place. Everybody says so.

So, who would go on a channel like that, one whose sole agenda is to discredit and destroy the American experiment? Well, none other than Adam Bennett Schiff of Burbank, CA. You know him as Congressman Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, the man leading the charge against Vladimir Putin’s propaganda machine.

And yet, Adam Schiff was part of that machine. Seriously. Here’s an actual screenshot. Just so you know, we’re not making this up. Though his office refused to confirm it tonight, we can assure you that that is indeed Adam Schiff, the one and only.

In our appearance that our producers reviewed – Adam Schiff’s appearance, Schiff seemed to promote conspiracy theories about the US government, suggesting that the men and women who lay down their lives to keep us safe may be twisting information for their own purposes.

Here’s a quote. “We only see what the intelligence community wants us to see.” Adam Schiff said that on “Russian Television”. There must’ve been applause in the Kremlin when he did.

But Schiff isn’t alone. Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut also appeared on Vladimir Putin’s cable channel. In one appearance, Himes said this about our men in uniform and their civilian leaders. “The invasion of Iraq, I would argue, the great American foreign policy mistake of the century.” Well, in the background, you could almost hear Vladimir Putin cackling with glee.

So, here you have two prominent members of Congress voluntarily appearing on a foreign propaganda outlet in order to undermine confidence in America’s core institutions. As they might put it, doing the bidding of a hostile foreign power.

Tokyo Rose went to prison for that. Now, we are not suggesting prison at this point. That’s a decision a new special counsel and federal grand juries will have to make after an appropriately extensive and independent investigation into all of this. That could take years. Not that justice has a timetable.

In the meantime, Schiff and Himes must recuse themselves immediately from any role in the Russia investigation, including appearances on MSNBC’s primetime lineup.

We assume the special counsel will also take up the mysterious and troubling case of the non-existent nude photographs, a story just broken by The Daily Mail hours ago.

Last year, Adam Schiff conducted a phone call with Russian pranksters, who promised him compromising photographs of Donald Trump with a Russian model. Schiff’s office claims the congressman wasn’t fooled by the prank. The call’s transcript suggests otherwise.

Schiff continued that conversation for more than 8 minutes and appeared to be taking notes during it. After the call, Schiff’s office contacted somebody they believed was Ukrainian politician, seeking to set up a meeting at a foreign embassy where they could obtain those documents.

Huh! Let’s see. Setting up meetings with foreign operatives seeking politically damaging information about a political opponent? We thought that was treason. Adam Schiff told us it was.

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor