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American Morning
Tucker's Tale
Aired July 17, 2003 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: As the co-host of CNN's "CROSSFIRE," you always know where Tucker Carlson is coming from. He comes from the right, of course. In a new book, though, about his times so far in cable news, Tucker reveals a disturbing chapter in his TV career. The soon-to-be-published book is called "Politicians, Partisans and Parasites."
My colleague, Tucker Carlson, up early this morning, live in D.C. to talk about it.
How are you, man? Good morning.
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, CNN'S "CROSSFIRE": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: The tie looks tight, as it always does.
CARLSON: It always is.
HEMMER: A serious topic here. Really interesting to hear the way you write about this episode. What happened when this woman came forward out of Kentucky and accused you of something quite severe?
CARLSON: Well, I got off the air one night off of "CROSSFIRE," and someone handed me my mail. And there was a letter from an attorney in Indiana named Matt Blanton (ph), and it said, my client says that she has been raped by you and is filing -- going to go to the D.A. in Louisville, Kentucky and is going to have felony sexual assault charges filed against you. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me.
And I did, in fact, have questions or concerns. I had never been to Louisville, Kentucky. I had never heard of the woman in question. And so, I got an attorney and got to the bottom of it.
But in the meantime, the first night I actually woke up at 3:00 in the morning sort of thinking that, you know, maybe I had a brain tumor or something. You know, maybe I had done some horrible crime and not been aware of it, because I was so convinced just from years of being in and around journalism that everybody accused of a sex crime, if not absolutely guilty, is in some way guilty. You know, maybe you didn't rape her, but you definitely had something to do with her. I mean, it's sort of axiomatic, as you know, among journalists that you're never completely innocent, but I was.
HEMMER: So, you said you would wake up in the middle of the night and give this thing a lot of thought. If you had never been to Louisville, did not recall the name, why would you even go down the road that led you to think and believe that maybe it was -- there was a glimmer of truth in it?
CARLSON: Well, I didn't really believe I had done it, but it was just so baffling, because I had been, on a subconscious level, absolutely convinced that, again, people don't get accused of things they have no connection to. Right? There is always a sliver of truth in every accusation. No one is completely innocent. Of course, it turns out that people sometimes are completely innocent, like me in this case.
HEMMER: Yes, so you lived this down in the end, correct? How did it this...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: I did live it down. I mean, ultimately, you know, I hired a wonderful lawyer, Bob Bennett (ph), in Washington, and ended up taking the polygraph exam from the former chief examiner at the FBI, and found out that the woman who accused me, though she was a CPA and a pillar of the community...
HEMMER: Yes.
CARLSON: ... where she lived, had mental problems and was in fact just, you know, a delusional viewer of the show and had convinced herself that I had committed this terrible crime. Ultimately, no charges were filed, and it didn't become public.
HEMMER: Yes.
CARLSON: So, I didn't have to, you know...
HEMMER: So, you spend the legal fees, about 14 grand. You take a lie detector test. You live it down. It's behind you right now. You touched on it earlier. Why do you feel compelled to come public and tell this story?
CARLSON: Well, I'll tell you exactly why. It's what I said a moment ago. You know, it's one of the biases I think that journalists have, and most of the time it's unconscious. It's not -- they don't know that they have the bias.
Gary Condit is a great example. Virtually everyone I knew in covering that story believed, you know, people say, you know, he killed his girlfriend. That's what people are whispering. Yes, he probably did. He probably had something to do with it, because the accusation is out there and you just assume that there is always an element of truth to every accusation.
And, again, sometimes there isn't, and it's really important to open yourself up to the possibility that sometimes people are just completely falsely accused. It's rare, but it does happen. It was really an education for me.
HEMMER: I would say. Surprising to hear the comments, too, but appreciate you sharing it with us. When are we going to read this book, by the way in its entirety? CARLSON: It comes out the first week of September.
HEMMER: Very nice.
CARLSON: I think it's amusing.
HEMMER: How is Novak doing?
CARLSON: Bob Novak is doing great.
HEMMER: And Carville and Begala, are they OK, too?
CARLSON: They're doing great. CNN, well, as you know, is a fun, amusing place to work for.
HEMMER: That's what I'm looking for.
CARLSON: Exactly. It comes through in that...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: And don't think -- not one of the bosses is watching right now, so you're still on the table.
CARLSON: No, it's just you and me, Bill. No one is going to hear us.
HEMMER: Hey, by the way, I just want to let you know that the finest work you've ever done for our network clearly was with Bill Press in "THE SPIN ROOM," despite what all of the critics were saying out there.
CARLSON: Well, I'll tell you the reason this show is fun is we made a conscious decision to eat all food viewers sent us. And once you decide to do that, you know you're going to have fun.
HEMMER: Very nice. We're going to watch you when you consumer the tie next, too. Senator Clinton was really funny with you, by the way, about a week ago. Thanks, Carlton.
CARLSON: Yes, she was good. Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: You got it. See you later.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired July 17, 2003 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: As the co-host of CNN's "CROSSFIRE," you always know where Tucker Carlson is coming from. He comes from the right, of course. In a new book, though, about his times so far in cable news, Tucker reveals a disturbing chapter in his TV career. The soon-to-be-published book is called "Politicians, Partisans and Parasites."
My colleague, Tucker Carlson, up early this morning, live in D.C. to talk about it.
How are you, man? Good morning.
TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, CNN'S "CROSSFIRE": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: The tie looks tight, as it always does.
CARLSON: It always is.
HEMMER: A serious topic here. Really interesting to hear the way you write about this episode. What happened when this woman came forward out of Kentucky and accused you of something quite severe?
CARLSON: Well, I got off the air one night off of "CROSSFIRE," and someone handed me my mail. And there was a letter from an attorney in Indiana named Matt Blanton (ph), and it said, my client says that she has been raped by you and is filing -- going to go to the D.A. in Louisville, Kentucky and is going to have felony sexual assault charges filed against you. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me.
And I did, in fact, have questions or concerns. I had never been to Louisville, Kentucky. I had never heard of the woman in question. And so, I got an attorney and got to the bottom of it.
But in the meantime, the first night I actually woke up at 3:00 in the morning sort of thinking that, you know, maybe I had a brain tumor or something. You know, maybe I had done some horrible crime and not been aware of it, because I was so convinced just from years of being in and around journalism that everybody accused of a sex crime, if not absolutely guilty, is in some way guilty. You know, maybe you didn't rape her, but you definitely had something to do with her. I mean, it's sort of axiomatic, as you know, among journalists that you're never completely innocent, but I was.
HEMMER: So, you said you would wake up in the middle of the night and give this thing a lot of thought. If you had never been to Louisville, did not recall the name, why would you even go down the road that led you to think and believe that maybe it was -- there was a glimmer of truth in it?
CARLSON: Well, I didn't really believe I had done it, but it was just so baffling, because I had been, on a subconscious level, absolutely convinced that, again, people don't get accused of things they have no connection to. Right? There is always a sliver of truth in every accusation. No one is completely innocent. Of course, it turns out that people sometimes are completely innocent, like me in this case.
HEMMER: Yes, so you lived this down in the end, correct? How did it this...
(CROSSTALK)
CARLSON: I did live it down. I mean, ultimately, you know, I hired a wonderful lawyer, Bob Bennett (ph), in Washington, and ended up taking the polygraph exam from the former chief examiner at the FBI, and found out that the woman who accused me, though she was a CPA and a pillar of the community...
HEMMER: Yes.
CARLSON: ... where she lived, had mental problems and was in fact just, you know, a delusional viewer of the show and had convinced herself that I had committed this terrible crime. Ultimately, no charges were filed, and it didn't become public.
HEMMER: Yes.
CARLSON: So, I didn't have to, you know...
HEMMER: So, you spend the legal fees, about 14 grand. You take a lie detector test. You live it down. It's behind you right now. You touched on it earlier. Why do you feel compelled to come public and tell this story?
CARLSON: Well, I'll tell you exactly why. It's what I said a moment ago. You know, it's one of the biases I think that journalists have, and most of the time it's unconscious. It's not -- they don't know that they have the bias.
Gary Condit is a great example. Virtually everyone I knew in covering that story believed, you know, people say, you know, he killed his girlfriend. That's what people are whispering. Yes, he probably did. He probably had something to do with it, because the accusation is out there and you just assume that there is always an element of truth to every accusation.
And, again, sometimes there isn't, and it's really important to open yourself up to the possibility that sometimes people are just completely falsely accused. It's rare, but it does happen. It was really an education for me.
HEMMER: I would say. Surprising to hear the comments, too, but appreciate you sharing it with us. When are we going to read this book, by the way in its entirety? CARLSON: It comes out the first week of September.
HEMMER: Very nice.
CARLSON: I think it's amusing.
HEMMER: How is Novak doing?
CARLSON: Bob Novak is doing great.
HEMMER: And Carville and Begala, are they OK, too?
CARLSON: They're doing great. CNN, well, as you know, is a fun, amusing place to work for.
HEMMER: That's what I'm looking for.
CARLSON: Exactly. It comes through in that...
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: And don't think -- not one of the bosses is watching right now, so you're still on the table.
CARLSON: No, it's just you and me, Bill. No one is going to hear us.
HEMMER: Hey, by the way, I just want to let you know that the finest work you've ever done for our network clearly was with Bill Press in "THE SPIN ROOM," despite what all of the critics were saying out there.
CARLSON: Well, I'll tell you the reason this show is fun is we made a conscious decision to eat all food viewers sent us. And once you decide to do that, you know you're going to have fun.
HEMMER: Very nice. We're going to watch you when you consumer the tie next, too. Senator Clinton was really funny with you, by the way, about a week ago. Thanks, Carlton.
CARLSON: Yes, she was good. Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: You got it. See you later.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
