Working at RT was ‘almost nirvana' for me – Rick Sanchez to Tucker Carlson
Sanchez had worked with RT since 2019 but was ultimately forced to cut ties with the broadcaster last September. The ex-host revealed that his departure was preceded by an 'interesting' phone call from an 'old friend" who he used to work with in mainstream news.
'He was a manager at CNN, as a matter of fact,' Sanchez told Carlson. 'He says, just calling to let you know that I'm now working somewhere else. I'm no longer in the news.'
His acquaintance revealed that 'a lot of people' at his new workplace had taken an interest in his RT show and 'don't necessarily like some of the things that you're saying.' The 'old friend' did not specify where exactly he now worked but implied it was a government agency – 'kind of' State Department – Sanchez recounted.
'And I said, well, they're welcome to come on and tell me, whoever they are, tell me. I mean, we could have them on as a guest and we can discuss whatever it is. But throughout the conversation he was very evasive,' he said, adding the conversation rang off as 'a warning or a threat,' or 'maybe both.'
Three weeks after the cryptic phone call, Sanchez was forced off the air by the US government. This happened despite the fact that RT had already been banned in the US, his show was not airing in America, and Sanchez himself was not working for RT directly but through a company contracted to produce the show.
'All of a sudden I'm hearing and then it happens the Biden administration has decided to go through the Treasury Department – this little agency called OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] that most people have never heard of, which controls what businesses in the United States are allowed to exist and which ones aren't, and they shut down the place where I worked,' Sanchez said, adding that a special provision 'seemed to say that any American working for this entity will go to jail or be fined.'
'That's what happened. And it happened in America. And it hurts being a guy who was born in a communist country and has spent his whole life saying we are so different than the rest of the world because we allow people to say and think and work wherever they want. And all of a sudden, here I was being told I couldn't work or think or say whatever I wanted,' the Cuban-born journalist added.
Speaking of his experience with RT, Sanchez described it as 'almost nirvana,' and added that the broadcaster is unmatched by mainstream outlets in terms of editorial freedom.
'It was really a great experience, especially comparatively speaking, to what I had experienced in the past. They generally did not mess with me. And when they did, we had normal editorial arguments, which happen in every newsroom and should of course,' he said. 'I wrote my entire show from top to bottom and nobody looked at it until it went on the air. How's that?'
Rick Sanchez spent a lifetime in television before becoming one of the highest rated anchors at RT. Last summer, the Biden administration forced him out of his job and threatened him with jail for refusing to repeat Zelensky's talking points. A case study on the death of free… pic.twitter.com/tt0xNBh36w
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
7 days ago
- Russia Today
Trump mulling investment in Iran's nuclear program
The administration of US President Donald Trump is considering a $30 billion plan to help Iran develop a civilian nuclear program as an incentive to return to full-fledged talks over a nuclear deal, CNN reported on Thursday, citing sources. Washington and its Middle East partners have been holding secret negotiations with Tehran, even as Iran and Israel exchanged strikes earlier this month, four sources familiar with the matter told the network. The US reportedly has not dropped its key demand that Iran agree to zero enrichment of uranium, which has been a red line for Tehran. To sweeten the deal, however, Washington is said to have floated several incentives. These include an estimated $20-30 billion investment project in Iran's nuclear program for civilian energy purposes – though the money would not come directly from the US, but rather from its Arab partners, the report claims. Other incentives reportedly under consideration include easing some sanctions and allowing Iran access to approximately $6 billion in frozen funds currently held in foreign bank accounts, CNN reported. One idea also being floated is to have Gulf-backed funding replace Iran's Fordow nuclear site – which was struck by US forces last weekend – with a new civilian-only facility, according to the report. It is unclear how Iran responded to the reported proposal. 'I think it is entirely uncertain what will happen here,' one source familiar with the matter told CNN, with another adding that negotiators taking part in the process 'are trying to be creative.' According to CNN, some US officials hope that the recent stand-off with Israel and US strikes on Iranian facilities will make Iran more likely to agree to Washington's terms. Others, however, fear that the flare-up will only spur Tehran to develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran maintains it does not seek nuclear weapons and insists the country's nuclear efforts are solely for peaceful energy purposes. Earlier this month, Israel launched a wave of attacks on Iranian nuclear and military facilities seeking to derail Iran's nuclear program. The US later joined the attack, using heavy bombers to target Iran's nuclear sites, including the well-protected Fordow nuclear facility. Trump has claimed that Iran's nuclear sites have been 'completely obliterated,' although US media reports disputed this assessment, claiming that the strikes only inflicted limited damage.
Russia Today
26-06-2025
- Russia Today
Trump calls for firing of CNN reporter over Iran and Hunter Biden laptop coverage
US President Donald Trump has demanded that CNN Pentagon correspondent Natasha Bertrand be fired for questioning the effectiveness of the recent US military action in Iran. He also mentioned her coverage of the 2020 Hunter Biden laptop story. Bertrand co-authored a CNN exclusive published on Wednesday, which, citing a preliminary US military intelligence assessment, contradicted Trump's claims that the American strikes had obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities. The CNN account was later supported by other media outlets. 'Natasha Bertrand should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out 'like a dog',' Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. CIA Director John Ratcliffe pushed back on skeptics, insisting that 'a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran's nuclear program has been severely damaged' by the strikes. CNN acknowledged the preliminary nature of its Defense Intelligence Agency source and stood by its reporters for 'accurately characterizing its findings, which are in the public interest.' Trump's rebuke of Bertrand claimed she 'lied on the Laptop from Hell Story, and now she lied on the Nuclear Sites Story,' a reference to her role in the 2020 story about Hunter Biden's laptop. While working at Politico, Bertrand authored a widely cited article titled 'Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say'. The open letter referenced in the piece did not make any such claim, however, stating only that the story had 'all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.' The laptop, which contained compromising material, had been left at a Delaware repair shop by the former US president's drug-addicted son.
Russia Today
26-06-2025
- Russia Today
Trump compares Iran strikes to Hiroshima
President Donald Trump has compared recent US airstrikes on Iran to its World War II atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in The Hague on Wednesday, Trump claimed the US strikes on Iran effectively ended their hostilities with Israel. 'I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki. But that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war. This ended the war,' he said. 'If we didn't take that out, they would have been, they'd be fighting right now,' the US president added. Trump blasted 'fake news' for allegedly diminishing the impact of the US bombing of Iran. 'You have some great reporters, but you have scum,' he said, pointing the finger at CNN, MSNBC and the New York Times. 'They're bad people. They're sick.' The US carried out unprecedented strikes on three major Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, supporting Israel in its 12-day campaign against Iran. Trump has since announced a ceasefire between the two sides and declared the facilities 'totally obliterated.' Iran denies that its civil domestic nuclear program was destroyed, and insists that it will continue using the technology for peaceful purposes. On Tuesday, multiple outlets cited a classified, preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report that said the US airstrikes may have only set the Iranian nuclear program back by months. According to CNN, which referenced sources familiar with the intelligence, Iran's underground centrifuges used to enrich uranium remained largely intact. The assessment also reportedly indicated that Tehran's stockpile of fissile material was likely relocated to secure locations before the strikes. The Islamic Republic will reconsider its stance on Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty cooperation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said. As '20 years of transparency and trust-building regarding Iran's peaceful nuclear program have not yielded positive results,' the issue needs to be considered, he told the New Arab in an interview. Tehran has devoted significant effort toward its peaceful nuclear energy program, and will not stop developing it, the top diplomat said.
