Co-hosts of "The View" on Monday suggested the Department of Justice investigate Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) for allegedly being "Russian propagandists" and "shilling" for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The segment began with a video clip showing comments Carlson and Gabbard recently made regarding the Russian war on Ukraine. They have each alleged that the U.S. is funding biological labs in Ukraine. Carlson has also claimed that American Democrats have "mandated" that U.S. citizens hate Putin.
Host Ana Navarro said that the DOJ should probe Carlson and Gabbard, claiming that they are "foreign asset[s] to a dictator."
"I think DOJ, in the same way that it is setting up a task force to investigate [Russian] oligarchs, should look into people who are Russian propagandists and shilling for Putin," Navarro said. "If you are a foreign asset to a dictator, it should be investigated."
As the panelists noted in the segment, a recent article from Mother Jones reports that a leaked memo from the Kremlin suggested it is "essential" that Russian state media "use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson."
Carlson said in a Feb. 23 broadcast of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that U.S. Democrats want Americans to hate Putin and that anything less than hatred for the Russian president is considered by Democrats to be treason. In a March 9 episode, the Fox News host claimed that Ukraine has U.S.-funded biological research labs and U.S.-funded biological weapons labs.
Last week, Russia accused the U.S. of financing biological weapons labs in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department have all claimed that Russia's accusations are false.
And Gabbard alleged in a social media video over the weekend that there are 25-30 biological research labs in Ukraine that are funded by the U.S.
Gabbard did not assert in her video that there are biological weapons or biological weapons labs in Ukraine but did claim that the biological research labs contained dangerous pathogens that could accidentally be released if the labs were attacked.
The World Health Organization told Ukraine last week to destroy disease-causing pathogens in its public health labs to prevent "potential spills" during Russia’s invasion.
On Sunday, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) tweeted that Gabbard is guilty of spewing "treasonous lies" for her comments and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill) said in a tweet of his own that the former congresswoman is "Traitorous."
RUSSIA USING TUCKER CARLSON IN PROPAGANDA? After a leaked Kremlin war memo reportedly instructed Russian state media to play Tucker Carlson clips and Tulsi Gabbard is being accused of spreading Russian false flag propaganda, #TheView panel reacts. https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/yzbQBrpmbT
— The View (@TheView) March 14, 2022
Navarro went on to say that Gabbard has been "repeating false Russian propaganda."
"I remember when Tulsi Gabbard, and I even hate that we're discussing it because I think to myself, who was this woman? She’s a, you know, she's no longer in Congress," Navarro said. "She's a failed presidential candidate. She only practically exists on Twitter. And the fact that we’re giving her oxygen is what makes her relevant, that we’re talking about her on our topics. But on the other hand, how do you not call out something that is repeating false Russian propaganda that has been brought down?"
Fellow Co-host Whoopi Goldberg then suggested comments like Carlson's and Gabbard's previously resulted in arrests.
"They used to arrest people for doing stuff like this, if they thought you were colluding with a Russian agent, if they thought you were putting out information or taking information and handing over to Russia," Goldberg said. "They used to actually investigate stuff like this. And I guess now, you know, there seems to be no bars and people are not being told to hate Putin. Putin doesn't need a reason to be hated. It’s pretty much clear."