NSA watchdog to investigate Tucker Carlson's allegations he was spied on
10 August 2021
The National Security Agency's inspector general announced Tuesday that it is investigating allegations that the NSA "improperly targeted the communications of a member of the U.S. news media."
Why it matters: Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed in June that a whistleblower had informed him NSA was monitoring his electronic communications "in an attempt to take this show off the air." The agency issued a statement at the time saying Carlson "has never been an intelligence target."
What they're saying: "The OIG is examining NSA's compliance with applicable legal authorities and agency policies and procedures regarding collection, analysis, reporting, and dissemination activities, including unmasking procedures, and whether any such actions were based upon improper considerations," NSA Inspector General Robert Storch said in a statement.
Between the lines: Carlson was speaking with U.S.-based Kremlin intermediaries about setting up an interview with Vladimir Putin shortly before he accused the National Security Agency of spying on him, Axios' Jonathan Swan reported last month.
- Sources told Axios that U.S. government officials learned about Carlson's efforts to secure the Putin interview.
- Carlson learned that the government was aware of his outreach — and that's the basis of his extraordinary accusation.
- Axios has not confirmed whether any communications from Carlson have been intercepted, and if so, why.
Editor's note: This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.