Tucker Carlson met Edward Snowden in Moscow

Carlson’s interview with Putin is slated to be released Thursday night, and there’s little point judging it in advance. There’s value for any journalist or commentator to interview a figure as consequential as Putin, and some of the most sympathetic interviewers can often make news, even inadvertently.

Of course, the reason for the Russian leader allowed Carlson access is due to his sympathy for Russia’s point of view on its invasion of Ukraine, something that’s made him a familiar face on Russian state-controlled television.

And Carlson’s pre-interview claims that other American journalists hadn’t sought interviews with Putin, or sought to cover Russia, are absurd. Top CNN and BBC anchors noted that they’ve sought interviews with Putin, and even Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov corrected Carlson’s claim.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershovich and Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty editor are currently imprisoned for trying to report on the country.

Carlson said via text that it is “totally false” that he’d met Snowden and Reade, but didn’t immediately elaborate on how.