Security News > 2021 > August > NSA Watchdog Will Review Tucker Carlson Spying Claims

The National Security Agency's Inspector General Robert Storch has announced a review of whether the agency illegally conducted cyber-espionage and collected the electronic communications of Fox News opinion-show host Tucker Carlson, who has accused the NSA of trying to capture embarrassing information that might lead to him being taken off the air.

The statement emphasized that the NSA is only authorized to target foreign entities, adding, "With limited exceptions, NSA may not target a U.S. citizen without a court order that explicitly authorizes the targeting."

Following the unsubstantiated accusations, high-profile conservatives like Florida Senator Marco Rubio criticized the NSA publicly, adding that previous statements didn't specifically address whether Carlson was the target of an investigation, the AP reported.

A new statement from the Florida lawmaker praised the added scrutiny on the matter from the NSA IG, saying that the review "Is an important step toward ensuring public confidence. It is important that this review is as transparent as possible, so it doesn't fuel further public suspicion and distrust."

"We are gratified to learn the NSA's egregious surveillance of Tucker Carlson will now be independently investigated," a Fox News statement provided to Threatpost said.

"As we have said, for the NSA to unmask Tucker Carlson or any journalist attempting to secure a newsworthy interview is entirely unacceptable and raises serious questions about their activities as well as their original denial, which was wildly misleading."

News URL

https://threatpost.com/nsa-watchdog-review-tucker-carlson-spying/168590/