US intelligence agency NSA to launch inquiry into allegations of spying on journalist

The internal watchdog of the National Security Agency’s has announced that they will be launching an inquiry regarding the alleged spying on a US news media member by the agency.

This comes months after Tucker Carlson, a Fox News host, alleged that a whistleblower told him the agency was spying on him in an attempt to “force him off the air”, reported Reuters.

An anonymous source told the Wall Street Journal that the review concerns Carlson.

However, the office of the inspector general has not clarified the name of the media outlet the inquiry will be concerning. Inspector General Robert Storch’s statement said that his office “is examining NSA's compliance with applicable legal authorities and Agency policies and procedures regarding collection, analysis, reporting, and dissemination activities, including unmasking procedures, and whether any such actions were based upon improper considerations.”

The NSA had denied the allegations in June, in a tweet that said, “This allegation is untrue. Tucker Carlson has never been an intelligence target of the Agency and the NSA has never had any plans to try to take his program off the air.”

A Fox News spokesperson said that the organisation is “gratified” that an independent inquiry is being made into the allegations.

The agency is “fully committed to the rigorous and independent oversight provided by the NSA Inspector General's office,” said an NSA spokesperson.