Tucker Carlson said Putin was asking 'fair questions' about Ashli Babbitt's killing at the Capitol riot
- Vladimir Putin recently brought up Ashli Babbitt, asking whether her death was an "assassination."
- Tucker Carlson said the Russian leader was raising "fair questions."
- He said his show normally "would never play tape of a foreign adversary criticizing our government."
The Fox News host Tucker Carlson says Russian President Vladimir Putin raised "fair questions" about the death of a woman killed by a police officer during the Capitol riot.
In an interview with NBC News, broadcast Monday, Putin was asked whether he had ordered the assassination of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who survived a nerve-agent poisoning last year. Navalny has accused Putin of directly ordering the attempt on his life.
Putin responded by bringing up Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter whom a police officer fatally shot as she tried to pass over a barricade leading to the Speaker's Lobby.
"Did you order the assassination of the woman who walked into the Congress and was shot and killed by a policeman?" the Russian leader said.
"Do you know that 450 individuals were arrested after entering the Congress? And they didn't go there to steal a laptop. They came with political demands: 450 people."
Carlson played that clip on his Tuesday show and said: "Now, under normal circumstances, we would never play tape of a foreign adversary criticizing our government. But honestly those are fair questions."
"Who did shoot Ashli Babbitt and why don't we know?" Carlson continued. "Are anonymous federal agents now allowed to kill unarmed women who protest the regime? That's OK now? No, it's not OK."
The 521 people charged so far in connection to the attack on the Capitol have been accused of offenses including assaulting police officers and unlawful entry to the Capitol.
Russia's foreign minister previously said Capitol rioters were being "persecuted."
Putin and President Joe Biden are set to meet Wednesday afternoon.