Tucker Carlson revealed Monday night that Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told President Donald Trump that if he were to pardon Julian Assange, the Senate would be more likely to convict him in an impeachment trial. Assange faces a barrage of charges under the 1917 Espionage Act.
Carlson opened the segment by saying it was unlikely that Assange, or former intelligence officer John Kiriakou, would get pardons.
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"Why? Well, apparently because Republicans in the Senate and by Republicans in the Senate, we mean Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the leader of Republicans in the Senate, has sent word over to the White House. If you pardon Julian Assange, we are much more likely to convict you in an impeachment trial. Now, is it legal to hold that over a president's head?"
Carlson then criticized elected officials for prioritizing a potential pardon over the challenges facing the country.
"We're not lawyers. We don't know it's certainly wrong, but more than that, it tells you everything about their priorities at a time when this country, in some ways is coming apart. We're at a pivotal point in American history.
"And if you're watching this show, you probably feel pretty threatened, and for good reason. There are people on the other channels saying they're going to hunt you down like a terrorist at that moment."
Carlson then tore into the entire party establishment and blamed their own embarrassment for the reason Assange was in jail in the first place.
"What does Mitch McConnell, your designated defender in the United States Senate, worry about? He's worrying about protecting the unity party in Washington, not his party, his party and the Democratic party and permanent Washington. They're the reason both of these men have been locked up because both these men embarrassed permanent Washington, that's their crime."
Carlson concluded, "If his priority in the final hours of the Trump administration is to make certain that they remain punished for doing that. It tells you everything. We don't know what's going to happen in the end. We've got a number of hours left for the president to make that decision, but we want you to know how that decision is being made because it's deeply revealing."