NIGHT, SEE YOU THEN.

♪ ♪

>> Tucker: GOOD EVENING AND

WELCOME TO

"TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT"

TONIGHT.

LOOKING BACK JANUARY OF 2017, IT

SEEMS LIKE ANOTHER AGE.

SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN THE YEAR

SINCE THEN, BUT IN OTHER WAYS

NOT THAT MUCH HAS CHANGED AT

ALL.

DONALD TRUMP AND NOT EVEN TAKEN

THE OATH OF OFFICE YET, BUT BY

THE FIRST WEEK OF THE NEW YEAR

OF 2017, I GUESS DON'T REMEMBER,

HE HAD ALREADY COMMITTED TO

DESTROYING HIS PRESIDENCY AND

TRUMP SEEM TO KNOW IT.

A LITTLE AFTER 8:00 P.M. ON THE

NIGHT OF JANUARY 3RD 2017 THE

PRESIDENT-ELECT WROTE A TWEET,

HE TOOK A VEILED DIG AT U.S.

INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES AND THEIR

HANDLING OF THE NEWLY INITIATED

RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION.

PRETTY MUCH THE SAME MOMENT,

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AR

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AV

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AN

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AG

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AA

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AT

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AM

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AN

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AC

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AS

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AM

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AD

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AO

CHUCK SCHUMER OF NEW YORK WAS AN

MANHATTAN STUDIO'S.

HE WENT TO THE SET AND THE

ANCHOR OF THE SHOW HE WAS ON

THAT NIGHT, RACHEL MADDOW HOLD

UP HIS TWEET ON A SCREEN, LIVE

ON TV AND ASKED CHUCK SCHUMER TO

COMMENT ON THAT.

HE ENDS IN THE WEEK BEFORE AND

HE COULDN'T HAVE KNOWN IT WAS

COMING, FOR ONE OF THE MORE

CALCULATING POLITICIANS IN

WASHINGTON, IT WAS A RARE

UNSCRIPTED MOMENT.

SO FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG

TIME CHUCK SCHUMER WENT WITH THE

UNVARNISHED TRUTH.

WATCH WHAT HE SAID.

>> YOU TAKE ON THE INTELLIGENCE

COMMUNITY, THEN SIX WAYS FROM

SUNDAY OF GETTING BACK AT YOU.

EVEN FOR PRACTICAL, SUPPOSEDLY

HARD-NOSED BUSINESSMAN HE IS

BEING REALLY DUMB TO DO THIS.

>> Tucker: CHUCK SCHUMER WENT

ON TO SAY HE DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY

WHAT THE SPY AGENCIES WERE DUE A

DONALD TRUMP AS PUNISHMENT FOR

BEING DUMB ENOUGH TO CRITICIZE

THEM IN PUBLIC, BUT HE WARNED

AND THIS IS VERBATIM QUOTE, FROM

WHAT I AM TOLD THEY ARE VERY

UPSET ABOUT HOW HE HAS TREATED

THEM AND TALKED ABOUT THEM.

VERY UPSET.

GOT IT?

THERE IS NO MISTAKING WHAT THAT

WAS.

THAT'S A THREAT ISSUED ON LIVE

TELEVISION WITH GRAVE

SERIOUSNESS BY A POLITICIAN WHO

HAS BEEN IN WASHINGTON LONG

ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT IT'S

ABSOLUTELY REAL.

IN THE END DONALD TRUMP IGNORED

IT, OR MORE LIKELY HE DECIDED TO

DEFY IT.

DAY AFTER DAY HE GAVE THE FINGER

TO THE PERMANENT WASHINGTON

ESTABLISHMENT COME ON AND OFF

TWITTER, SOMETIMES AT PRESS

CONFERENCES, BUT ALWAYS WITH

UNMISTAKABLE RELISH.

HE ACTED LIKE A MAN WHO HAD WON

IN ELECTION IN A DEMOCRATIC

COUNTRY AND HE SEEMED TO FEEL

FREE TO SAY EXACTLY WHAT HE

THOUGHT.

HE DIDN'T APPEAR TO BELIEVE THE

INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES HAD VETO

POWER OVER HIS AGENDA.

IN A THOUSAND DIFFERENT WAYS THE

NEW PRESIDENT REFUSED TO BOW AND

FOR THAT CRIME MORE THAN ANY

OTHER CRIME, HE WAS PUNISHED.

MOST RECENTLY BY THE

MANUFACTURER IN UKRAINE SCANDAL.

THE INTEL WORLD HAS BECOME

DEFIANT, JUST YESTERDAY AT THE

FORMER CEI DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN

EXPRESSED OUTRAGE THAT ANYONE

WOULD EVER DARE OVERSIGHT THAT

SECRETLY OVERSEE OUR LIVES.

>> I'M SUPPOSEDLY GOING TO BE

INTERVIEWED BY MR. DURHAM AS

THERE IS NO INVESTIGATION.

WILLIAM BARR WHEN HE WAS

TESTIFYING IN FRONT OF CONGRESS

AT A DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE

PREDICATION OF THE

COUNTERINTELLIGENCE

INVESTIGATION THAT WAS LAUNCHED

INTO RUSSIAN'S INTERFERENCE IN

THE 2016 ELECTION.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE

PREDICATION OF THIS WORLDWIDE

EFFORT TO TRY AND COVER DIRT,

EITHER REAL OR IMAGINED THAT WE

DISCREDIT THAT INVESTIGATION IN

2016 AND THE RUSSIAN

INTERFERENCE.

>> Tucker: JOHN BRENNAN IS A

NAKED PARTISAN AND HE IS A LIAR.

HE HAS ACTED IN WAYS THAT WOULD

HAVE SHOCKED AND HORRIFIED

PREVIOUS DIRECTOR IS NOT SAYING

A LOT.

JOHN BRENNAN IS NOT ASHAMED, FAR

FROM WHAT HE IS PROUD AND SO ARE

AS MANY ACCOLADES IN WASHINGTON.

PHILMONT IS A FORMER CIA

EMPLOYEE LIKE SO MANY PARTISANS

FROM INTELLIGENCE WORLD HE

IS NO CONTRIBUTOR AT CNN.

LAST NIGHT HE SENT AN ON AIR

WARNING TO THE PRESIDENT AND HIS

LAWYER, BACK OFF OR PREPARED TO

GET HURT.

>> I SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN

GOVERNMENT.

THERE ARE STATE DEPARTMENT

OFFICIALS WILL TESTIFY COME AND

TELL GUYS, DEPARTMENT,

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PEOPLE

COME ALL OF US ARE A BROTHERHOOD

AND SISTERHOOD.

RUDY GIULIANI PARACHUTES AND

FROM MARS.

THE PEOPLE WHO WILL TESTIFY ARE

GOING TO LOOK AT HIM INCLUDING

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS AND

SAY, I DON'T HAVE TO PROTECT

THAT GUY.

HE DIDN'T OPERATE BY THE RULES.

HE DIDN'T DO WHAT YOU WERE

SUPPOSED TO DO IN GOVERNMENT.

I SUSPECT HE IS WORRIED ABOUT

WHAT THE CONGRESS WILL DO.

IF I WERE HIM I WOULD BE WORRIED

ABOUT WHAT THE PEOPLE AND

GOVERNMENT STICK A SHIV IN HIS

BACK.

HE'S IN TROUBLE.

>> Tucker: IT'S A BROTHERHOOD

SAYS PHIL, THE CIA, A

BROTHERHOOD THAT WILL STAB YOU

TO DEATH IF YOU DISOBEY.

WHAT HE IS DESCRIBING IS NOT A

CONVENTIONAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY,

NOTHING LIKE WHAT MOST OF US

IMAGINE WHEN WE THINK ABOUT WHAT

WASHINGTON IS DOING ON OUR

BEHALF.

THE CA OF JOHN BRENNAN AND PHIL

MUDD DOES NOT EXIST FOR OUR

BENEFIT, AND EXIST FOR THE

BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK

THERE.

WE PAY FOR THE WHOLE THING, BUT

THEY DO WHAT THEY WANT AND THEY

PUNISH ANYONE WHO CRITICIZES

THEM.

THEY BRAG ABOUT THAT.

NOW THAT IS SCARY, A PERVERSION

OF DEMOCRACY AND WITH THE PEOPLE

WHO CREATED THE CIA FEARED MOST.

IT'S ALSO -- IF OR WHEN TO BE

HONEST, IT'S ANNOYING BECAUSE

FOR ALL OF THE HYPE, THE

CIA AND THE END ISN'T EVEN VERY

GOOD AT ITS JOB.

REMEMBER, THIS IS AN

INTELLIGENCE AGENCY!

IT'S FAIR TO JUDGE THEIR

PERFORMANCE AGAINST WHETHER OR

NOT THEY PREDICTED CRUCIAL

EVENTS OVER THE PAST 70 YEARS.

AGAIN AND AGAIN, THEY DIDN'T.

THE CIA FOR EXAMPLE WAS SHOCKED

BY THE KOREAN WAR.

THEY DIDN'T PREDICT THE SOVIET

ATOMIC BOMB, NOT A SMALL THING.

THEY MISSED THE CUBAN MISSILE

CRISIS AND THE ISRAELI WAR, THEY

SPENT DECADES TRYING TO BRING

DOWN FIDEL CASTRO -- TO KILL

FIDEL CASTRO, SO NATURALLY HAS A

RESUME EVER FELT.

HE LIVED INTO HIS 90s.

THE CIA SPENT DECADES PROPPING

UP THE SHELL OF IRAN SO

NATURALLY HE TUMBLED FROM POWER.

THEY DID PROVIDE A WARNING

BEFORE BECAUSE HE HAD NO IDEA.

WHEN THE IRON CURTAIN FINALLY

FELL IN 1989 THE CI WAS

COMPLETELY BLINDSIDED BY IT,

THEY THOUGHT THEY PREDICTED IN

FACT THE SOVIET UNION WASN'T

STRONG AS EVER.

THINGS DIDN'T GET BETTER AFTER

THAT.

THE CIA HAD NO IDEA THAT SADDAM

HUSSEIN PLANNED TO EVADE THE WAY

THE NEXT YEAR, THEY WERE

SURPRISED BY INDIA'S ATOMIC BOMB

TEST EIGHT YEARS LATER.

BUT 2003 THEY WERE TOTALLY

CONFIDENT THAT IRAQ HAD WEAPONS

OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

IN FACT, TO BIGGEST SUCCESS

MIGHT'VE BEEN CRATING THE

TALIBAN.

IF JOHN BRENNAN HAD BEEN WORKING

FOR A NONPROFIT BUSINESS THERE

WOULD HAVE BEEN A SHAREHOLDER

REVOLT A LONG TIME AGO AND

PROBABLY CRIMINAL CHARGES.

HE WOULD HAVE BEEN JOHN

DeLOREAN.

BECAUSE IT'S A SECRETIVE

GOVERNMENT AGENCY, THE CA HAS

NOT BEEN RESTRAINED, IN FACT

IT'S ONLY BECOME MORE POWERFUL

AND MORE AUTONOMOUS SPIRIT

POWERFUL ENOUGH TO TAKE ON A

PRESIDENT?

WE WILL SEE.

ONE REASON THE PERMANENT

WASHINGTON IS SO POWERFUL, SO

RESISTANT TO CHANGE OR OVERSIGHT

IS THAT IT MAKES ALLIANCES WITH

SOME OF THE LEAST IMPRESSIVE,

BUT MOST VICIOUS MEMBERS OF

CONGRESS.

DAYS AGO ADAM SCHIFF CLAIMED HIS

OFFICE HAD NO CONTACT WHATSOEVER

WITH THE CI WHISTLE-BLOWER.

>> FIRST OFF, HAVE YOU HEARD

FROM THE WHISTLE-BLOWER?

DO YOU WANT TO HEAR FROM THE

WHISTLE-BLOWER?

>> WE HAVE NOT SPOKEN DIRECTLY

WITH THE WHISTLE-BLOWER.

WE WOULD LIKE TO.

>> Tucker: HE ALSO CLAIMED TO

KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHAT WAS IN

THE WHISTLE-BLOWER'S COMPLAINT

BEFORE IT CAME OUT, BUT

YESTERDAY "THE NEW YORK TIMES"

REVEALED THAT BOTH OF THOSE

CLAIMS WERE ALLIED.

HE APOLOGIZED AND AWAY SAYING

THAT HE "SHOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH

MORE CLEAR."

RIGHT.

HE NOW ADMITS HIS OFFICE SPOKE

TO THE WHISTLE-BLOWER WHO BY THE