Tucker Carlson has become quite a controversial figure in recent months — and, even more so since the war in Iran began.

But, whatever you think about him, his feud with the current administration may be about to increase drastically…

On his show today, Tucker Carlson dropped a shocking announcement.

He claims that the CIA has been spying on him and reading his text messages.

Reportedly, the agency is currently preparing a criminal referral against him for allegedly violating FARA when he interviewed Iranian leaders before the war started.

Watch this for yourself:

For those who prefer to read, here’s a transcript:

So the other day, I found out that the CIA is preparing some kind of criminal referral against me, a crime report to the Department of Justice on the basis of a supposed crime I committed. What’s that crime? Well, talking to people in Iran before the war. They read my texts. So, the crime under consideration, apparently, would be the Foreign Agent Act, or something like that, acting as an agent of a foreign power.

And I don’t expect this to go anywhere. I’m not too worried about an actual criminal case against me for a bunch of reasons. One, I’m not an agent of a foreign power. Unlike a lot of people, commenting on US politics and global affairs, I have only one loyalty, and that’s the United States and have never acted against it. Its interests are the only interests I care about because I’m from here and I have a lot of kids, so that’s not a concern. I’ve also never taken money from anybody. Don’t need it, don’t want it, and that’s provable.

And moreover, it’s my job to talk to everybody all the time and try and figure out what’s happening around the world. That’s literally what I do for a living. And I’m not going to stop doing that, nor should I, I don’t think. I’m also an American. I can talk to anybody. I have no secrets to divulge. So, legally, I think the case is ludicrous, and I doubt it will even become a case.

I’m bringing this up for a couple of reasons, though, and they’re pretty obvious. One is that countries tend to become more authoritarian in wartime. It’s just the nature of war. People are dying, the stakes are high, people’s emotions have risen to a very high point, to a crescendo, and so there’s much less tolerance for any kind of dissent in the homeland. The irony, of course, is the United States fights wars on behalf of freedom, but there’s always less of it here in our country during war. So, that’s a widely recognized phenomenon, and it’s likely to happen now too.

Another point to make that is worth knowing is that the USIC, the intelligence agencies, spy on Americans. You probably knew that, and it’s been revealed a lot, including by Julian Assange and Ed Snowden, both of whom were threatened with death for revealing it, but everyone knows. But it’s probably a little more widespread than most people understand, and it’s outrageous. There’s no justification for your government, which you own, you’re a shareholder in it, you pay for it, to be violating your privacy like this. But it happens all the time.

And in fact, one of the reasons that CIA, or people within CIA— just to be clear, it’s a huge, sprawling, disconnected agency. What it does in a specific case doesn’t represent what everybody in the building thinks. But there are some people who are mad at me for my views about Israel, and they have some latitude, and one of the reasons they pass on criminal complaints, in effect, to law enforcement is to justify warrants for spying on Americans.

So, that is an absolutely real thing, but the main reason they do it is to leak the existence of the investigation, such as it is, to the media and then humiliate and terrify the subjects of this op. And that’s, of course, happened to me repeatedly, many times, including in, famously, 2021, when I was still at Fox News and trying to set up an interview with Vladimir Putin, and the NSA, I heard from someone there, had grabbed my text messages with an American citizen and had leaked them to news outlets. Those texts were basically my attempts to set up an interview with a foreign head of state, and they leaked them to the New York Times in order to stop the interview, which they successfully did, by the way. And they admitted that they were spying on me.

This is not a fantasy. It actually happened. They did it again two years later in my second attempt to get a Putin interview. I managed to get it anyway, and they’ve done it since. And so, when you get a call from a reporter who knows the contents of your texts, it’s pretty clear something’s going on.

None of this, in my judgment, as of right now, is a huge threat to me. So, I’m not making this video to complain about it or whine or ask you to send me money because I’m under attack. I’m saying it because it’s true, and you should know what your own government is doing, and you should know what the stakes are, and you should know that a lot of what happens in this country that affects outcomes happens behind the scenes. Some of it is legal; some of it is not, including what I’m describing now, but it has an effect.

And the Intel agencies— again, not everyone in the Intel agencies because there are decent, hard working Americans who work in the Intel agencies that are Americans, just like there are decent, hard working Americans who work at the DMV. But there are also people with agendas and grudges and no sense of restraint, who are happy to misuse the power they have granted them by our elaborate secrecy laws to hurt fellow Americans for ideological reasons. That is entirely real. That’s the story of Russiagate, and it’s likely that things like that will begin to happen at greater scale now. So, you should just know that going forward. Thanks.

If you don’t know, FARA stands for the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

So, essentially, Tucker Carlson says that the government may be preparing to charge him with acting as a foreign agent when he interviewed certain leaders.

Right now, such charges would be a real stretch, and Tucker doesn’t seem to be too worried about the case going anywhere.

I asked Grok to break down the likelihood of Tucker Carlson actually being prosecuted under FARA:

FARA stands for the Foreign Agents Registration Act. It is a U.S. federal law enacted in 1938 (codified at 22 U.S.C. § 611 et seq.) that requires individuals or entities acting as “agents” of foreign principals—such as foreign governments, political parties, or other foreign entities—to register with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and publicly disclose their relationship, activities, finances, and any materials distributed on behalf of those foreign principals.
The main goal of FARA is to promote transparency about foreign influence on U.S. public opinion, policy, or government decisions. It focuses on activities like political advocacy, lobbying, public relations, or disseminating informational materials intended to influence U.S. audiences or officials. Registration involves filing detailed reports, and the information becomes public. Violations can lead to civil penalties, fines, or—in rare cases—criminal charges (especially for willful non-registration or failure to disclose). Enforcement has historically emphasized civil compliance over criminal prosecution.
Could Tucker Carlson be charged under FARA?
Based on publicly available information, there is no indication that Tucker Carlson has been charged with any FARA violation, nor is there evidence of an active investigation or prosecution against him as of now.
Discussions around Carlson and FARA have arisen in a few contexts, such as:
  • His 2024 interview with Vladimir Putin (widely seen as granting a platform for Russian perspectives, but journalists conducting interviews generally do not trigger FARA unless they are acting under the direction/control of a foreign principal and engaging in covered political activities).
  • More recently (in 2025–2026), his interview with Qatar’s prime minister, where FARA filings from a registered lobbying firm (Lumen8 Advisors, paid by Qatar’s embassy) disclosed efforts to facilitate media contacts, including outreach to “The Tucker Carlson Show” for an interview on topics like potential war with Iran. Some critics and online commentators alleged this implied indirect foreign influence or payments, but reports clarify that the filings pertain to the lobbying firm—not Carlson or his network directly—and his team has denied any direct payment or agency relationship.

To trigger FARA registration (and potential charges for failing to register), a person must act “at the order, request, or under the direction or control” of a foreign principal in covered activities aimed at influencing U.S. policy or public opinion. Simply interviewing a foreign leader, expressing views aligned with certain foreign interests, or receiving standard media access does not automatically qualify—FARA exemptions and First Amendment protections apply in many journalistic or independent speech contexts. No credible reports show Carlson meeting the legal threshold for being an unregistered “foreign agent,” and no charges have been filed. If new evidence emerged of direct control or compensation from a foreign government for specific advocacy, that could change the analysis, but nothing like that has surfaced publicly.

So, unless a lot more evidence surfaces, it’s unlikely that Tucker Carlson actually gets arrested for violating FARA.

However, this is just the most recent escalation of drama between him and other conservative media figures.

For months, critics of Tucker Carlson — like Laura Loomer — have been accusing him of being paid by Qatar to broadcast their tailored view on Middle East issues.

In fact, Laura Loomer took credit for referring Tucker Carlson to the government, in the first place.

Take a look at a few of her recent posts:

If Tucker Qatarlson gets charged for violating FARA and or leaking information to Russia, Saudi Arabia Iran or Qatar, I’m taking credit.

Islamic sympathizers always project onto others what they are likely guilty of.

You have no idea how relentless I have been in speaking to GOP reps and even reporting Tucker to law enforcement and the DOJ.

I pray my efforts are successful.

Tucker says the CIA read his texts to “set him up” for a crime.

Sounds like someone is trying to get ahead of a story.

Lock him up!

If you’ve been watching my show for the last 2 years, you have heard me over and over again speak about how @TuckerCarlson is violating FARA.

This is why I reported him to the FBI and DOJ, and why I brought my findings to the attention of the White House.

FARA is real, and if you violate it, you go to jail. Tucker thinks he’s above the law because his son works in the White House.

Well, he isn’t above the law, and I hope he is given serious jail time and fines.

What’s your opinion on all of this?

Do you support Tucker Carlson or do you believe Laura Loomer that he should be prosecuted?

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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