The former secretary of state is baffled as to why some Americans would trust the Russian leader over their own government

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has lashed out at journalist Tucker Carlson for going to Russia to interview President Vladimir Putin. She warned that there is a “fifth column” in the US supposedly doing Moscow’s bidding.

Carlson, a former Fox News host, is known for his contrarian position on the US standoff with Russia and the Ukraine conflict. He was the first American journalist to be granted an interview with Putin since the hostilities flared up in February 2022.

”He’s what’s called a useful idiot,” Clinton told MSNBC host Alex Wagner in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, referring to Carlson. She claimed that Russian media is making fun of him and comparing him to a puppy dog.

”I would not be surprised if he emerges with a contract with a Russian outlet because he is a useful idiot. He says things that are not true. He parrots Vladimir Putin’s pack of lies about Ukraine,” she continued.

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Clinton called Carlson’s visit a sign of mistrust that some people in the US have regarding Washington’s positions, which she called “the truth.”

“Why are certain Republicans throwing their lot in? Why are other Americans basically believing Putin? Why did [Donald] Trump believe Putin more than our 11 intelligence agencies?” she wondered.

The latter remark appears to be a reference to a memo that was released by the US intelligence community in October 2016, accusing Moscow of stealing Democratic Party emails and leaking them to the public to affect the upcoming election. Clinton brought it up during presidential debates with a skeptical Trump, declaring that “17 intelligence agencies… have all concluded that these espionage attacks, these cyber attacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin.”

The assessment was released by the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence, but was actually made by the CIA, FBI, and NSA. It was not immediately clear why Clinton mentioned 11 agencies rather than 17 in her interview.

Clinton has blamed Russian interference for her defeat in the 2016 election. The narrative was backed by much of the US media, which insinuated that Trump was beholden to Russia.

READ MORE: Ukraine conflict, fallout of NATO expansion, relations with US: Key takeaways from Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson

Speaking to MSNBC, Clinton claimed that there was “a yearning [in the US] for leaders who can kill and imprison their opponents, destroy the press [and] lead a life that is one of impunity, unbound by any laws.”

“I find that absolutely, gobsmacking terrifying,” she added.