Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson has taken aim at CNN, alleging that its rival network had been hit by what he described as a “pedo outbreak” after two of its producers were embroiled in recent high-profile child sex abuse scandals.
During a fiery segment on Monday, titled “CNN Pedo Outbreak,” Carlson noted that there was “something very strange going on” at the network. He quipped that there were “more accused pedophiles at CNN than Americans who have died of the so-called Omicron variant.”
The first scandal involved veteran producer John Griffin, who was arrested earlier this month and charged with three counts of attempting to lure underage victims to his house to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
A Justice Department statement revealed how Griffin used instant messaging apps to coax the parents of minor girls into “[allowing] him to train their daughters to be sexually submissive.”
Describing the allegations as “horrifying,” Carlson said Griffin – who has been suspended by CNN pending an investigation – had bragged about “working shoulder-to-shoulder” with the network’s disgraced former host Chris Cuomo, who has also been hit by sexual misconduct allegations.
He then turned to the second scandal, which surfaced only days later, after Project Veritas “exposed another creep” at CNN “fantasizing about molesting a child” and allegedly seeking “explicit photographs” of the minor. Although noting that the details were “graphic,” Carlson stopped short of naming the producer.
Last week, Project Veritas released a video of a former sex worker who alleged that the CNN producer – later identified as Rick Saleeby, who works with network host Jake Tapper – had asked for nude pictures of her and her 15-year-old daughter, and opened up about his fantasies involving the 14-year-old daughter of his fiancee.
Noting that CNN did not return Fox’s calls to confirm whether Saleeby was an employee, Carlson said this sounded “like news” that the network “would be covering” but is not. He then pointed to CNN host Brian Stelter’s coverage about “embarrassing headlines” at Fox News, before breaking into laughter.
“Paging Dr. Freud. We point out lots of examples of transference – that’s when you take the sins you’ve committed and accuse others of them. Nothing better than this example. Ever,” Carlson said, repeating his earlier categorization of Stelter as a “eunuch.”