Ukraine blacklists 'pro-Russian critics'
Journalist Glenn Greenwald and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard react to Ukraine labeling them 'propagandists' on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'
The Ukrainian government "blacklisted" several Americans as "pro-Russian" propagandists, including one journalist who quipped that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy somehow had time to watch Joe Scarborough's, "Morning Joe" program.
The Ukrainian "Center for Countering Disinformation" was reportedly established in 2021 under Zelenskyy and aims to counter "destructive disinformation."
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, journalist Glenn Greenwald, retired Col. Douglas Macgregor, University of Chicago Prof. John Mearshimer, and Romanian-born military strategist Edward Luttwak, have been named as "pro-Russian[s]," according to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Carlson invited Gabbard and Greenwald to respond Monday, after questioning how President Biden has repeatedly claimed sending millions in American taxpayer dollars to Kyiv is "defending democracy" – especially if Zelenskyy banned both opposition political parties and now has taken aggressive action toward the very Americans whose money is helping Ukraine against Russia.
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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office on Saturday, June 18, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends meeting with military officials. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
"Now the Ukrainian government has decided that they can impose censorship in our country," Carlson said.
Greenwald, who now writes on Substack, questioned how Zelenskyy could find time to analyze media coverage of critics in the U.S. to the point he would start blacklisting those who question the blanket statements and proverbially unquestionable allocation of U.S. funds.
"I thought President Zelenskyy had a war to run," he said. "Apparently, he has a lot of time to watch ‘The Morning Joe Show’ on MSNBC, where they sit around for hours accusing everybody they want to discredit of being a Kremlin agent and teaching American liberals how to do the same."
"It's easy to mock, but it's actually quite outrageous -- The Ukrainians have a conflict with this neighboring country in Russia. They're totally free to pursue whatever war policies they want. They can fight Russia in the next 10 years if they choose. But that's not what they're doing."
"They're begging and in a sense, demanding that other countries, including my own, the United States, provide them with a seemingly endless supply of weapons and money, which means we not only have the right, but the obligation to debate that and ask whether that's in the interest of the American people to do."
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks during the COVID Federal Response Hearing on Capitol Hill on June 16, 2022 (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Greenwald said Zelenskyy is "exporting" the same "repression" he has forced on citizens in the form of censorship as mentioned by Carlson – calling it "gall[ing]" to hear the Ukrainians demand money and weapons from Americans while interfering in their political discourse in this way.
Later, Gabbard – who Hillary Rodham Clinton similarly falsely suggested was an "asset" of Vladimir Putin – said the blacklist is hypocritical, and a good reason Americans should think clearly about the Biden-Harris platform toward Ukraine.
"[T]he Washington elite from both parties are continuing to be willing to impoverish the American people-- and people around the world – and push us closer and closer to nuclear war and holocaust, all to protect democracy and defeat autocracy in Ukraine," she said.
Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Americares)
"And all of this is happening as the Ukrainian president is frankly exposing that there is no democracy in Ukraine. You mentioned a few examples of some of the things that he's doing in silencing any dissenting voices, imprisoning political opponents, banning all political activity from the 11 opposition parties, frankly, taking control of all national media under his unified information policy."
"And now he's turning his sights on Americans, not only myself and others you've mentioned, but a sitting US senator," she continued, referring to Rand Paul.
"The danger of this, again, goes to the cost that our leaders are willing to exact as they continue this facade of a push for so-called democracy and defeat autocracy," Gabbard said.