Jewish World Review March 3, 2006 / 3 Adar, 5766

A nasty little propagandist

By Tucker Carlson

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Liberal columnist Arianna Huffington wrote a blog attacking me for not revealing that my father has given money to Scooter Libby's legal defense fund. Her points were absurd, her tone was nasty. The fact that she dragged a member of my family into it made me red-in-the-face mad. I would have loved the chance to tell her this in person, and we tried.

Unfortunately, a woman who identified herself as Arianna's quote, "chief of staff" informed us that Huffington would not be coming on the show. That's a shame. But I'd still like to make a few quick points:

• I didn't mention my father's support for Scooter Libby because it was irrelevant. Completely and utterly. Libby was my father's personal lawyer long before he joined the Bush administration. They're friends, and that has nothing at all to do with me. I've met Scooter Libby precisely once.

  
  

• My position on Patrick Fitzgerald's ongoing leak investigation has been the same since the day that investigation started. I haven't changed a word I've said or written on the subject to suit anyone else's opinion, including my father's.

  
  

• Arianna could have criticized my views about Scooter Libby. That would have been fair. But she didn't. In fact, she didn't bother even to address them. Instead she went immediately for the most personal of attacks, dragging a member of my family into it. As if my father is responsible for what I believe.

This isn't honest political debate. It's attempted character assassination by a nasty little propagandist. Arianna Huffington ought to be ashamed of herself. I wish I could tell her that to her face.