The 9/11 Files: From Cover-up to Conspiracy | Ep 4

Podcast: The Tucker Carlson Show
Date: October 14, 2025

Episode Overview

In this fourth episode of the 9/11 Files series, Tucker Carlson scrutinizes enduring questions and conspiracy theories surrounding the events of September 11, 2001, with a particular focus on the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 (WTC 7), the suppression of evidence, and foreign intelligence involvement. The episode critically examines inconsistencies in the official narrative, uses expert testimony and primary sources, and raises questions about the actions of the US government and its intelligence agencies before, during, and after the attacks.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How to Fuel Conspiracy Theories: The U.S. Government’s Role

[00:14]

• Carlson opens by outlining what a government might do if it wanted conspiracy theories to flourish post-9/11:
  • Suppress or withhold evidence, such as video of attacks.
  • Dispose of the rubble before thorough investigation.
  • Dismiss dissenters as "crazy or a criminal."
  • Avoid public trials and release no photographic evidence of Osama bin Laden’s death.
  • Use the attacks to justify unrelated military invasions.
• Quote:

  "You do exactly what the US government did in the wake of 9/11... The more time people spend wondering about directed energy weapons, the less time they focus on the obvious, the facts hiding in plain sight." — Tucker Carlson [00:14]

2. The Enigma of Building 7 – Ignored by the 9/11 Commission

[02:58 – 04:56]

• Building 7, a 47-story steel-frame building, collapsed hours after the Twin Towers, having not been directly struck by debris in a way that would explain such a collapse.
• Notable tenants included New York City’s Office of Emergency Management, the Secret Service, the CIA, and the Department of Defense—all of whose records were destroyed.
• Pointed out that even bystanders and prominent figures questioned if a plane could take down a steel building:
  • Quote:

    "A steel building doesn't fall into its own footprint because the plane hit another building a couple hundred yards away." — Carlson [03:02]

  • Bystander:

    "I happen to think that they had not only a plane, but they had bombs that exploded almost simultaneously..." [04:30]

3. Investigations, Evidence Removal, and Official Explanations

[05:15 – 08:43]

• Immediate and thorough removal of debris—most shipped overseas—precluded a full investigation.
• New York Times reported steel sent to Asia without being analyzed.
  • Quote:

    "An unknown number of steel columns has been sent off to mills as far away as Asia without ever having been examined or saved." — NYT Report, cited by Carlson [06:28]

• Official FEMA/NIST explanations centered on debris starting fires and failure of sprinkler systems, causing critical structural failure and a "progressive collapse".
• Contradiction: Other high-rise fires worldwide (One Meridian Plaza, First Interstate Bank, Grenfell Tower) did not result in collapse of steel frames.

4. Alternative Theories – Controlled Demolition

[08:43 – 13:40]

• Professor Leroy Hulsey’s 2020 independent study challenged the NIST explanation, finding office fires could not have produced sufficient thermal expansion.
  • Study concluded only a controlled demolition could plausibly explain the nature of the collapse.
• Limitations: Lack of complete video footage and rapid debris removal prevent conclusive answers.
• Some evidence (e.g., thermitic material in dust, as found in 2009 study) supports the demolition hypothesis, though NIST disputes feasibility and notes the lack of expected explosion evidence.
  • Carlson:

    "...They found traces of explosive compounds. To its credit, NIST's report did investigate multiple hypothetical blast scenarios, but found it would be impossible to carry out on any floor in the building without detection..." [11:57]

• Eyewitnesses, such as Barry Jennings, reported hearing explosions within the building, but Jennings died just before the NIST report’s release.

5. Media Reporting and Foreknowledge

[16:27]

• BBC notoriously reported the collapse of Building 7 live 20 minutes before it actually happened, generating more suspicion.
  • Carlson:

    "Was that just rushed reporting... or did the BBC have advance word that the building was coming down?" [16:27]

6. Unusual Financial Activity Pre-9/11

[17:34]

• Surge in put options (bets against stock prices) of airlines and companies in the World Trade Center in days before the attack.
  • Official explanation called these "innocuous," but researchers found high statistical significance.
  • 95% of put trades against United Airlines placed by one US-based institutional investor—identity still withheld by US government.

7. Foreign Intelligence and Foreknowledge

[20:20 – 28:41]

• Multiple foreign agencies (France, Germany, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UK) reportedly had intelligence on a potential attack.
• NSA’s signals intelligence was shared with foreign partners but not always with domestic agencies like the CIA.
  • Michael Scheuer (former CIA Bin Laden unit chief):

    "It's certainly an absurdity...to have the British, the Saudis, the Israelis getting information from our National Security Agency that we are...not privileged enough to get." — [23:49]

• Specific attention paid to Israeli assets (“art students”) living near future hijackers and the Israeli nationals seen "celebrating" the attacks in New Jersey (the so-called "Dancing Israelis").
• Arrested Israelis were polygraphed and found deceptive in relation to counterintelligence, then deported for visa violations.

8. Suppressed and Unanswered Questions

[28:41 – End]

• Concludes with a litany of persistent questions the 9/11 Commission failed to answer or address:
  • Why was evidence immediately destroyed or withheld?
  • What did US and foreign intelligence agencies know, and why was it not acted upon?
  • Why did the FBI’s Most Wanted poster for Bin Laden omit 9/11?
  • Why so few video releases of the Pentagon impact?
  • How did hijackers with so little training execute such complex attacks?
  • Where’s the Flight 93 wreckage?
  • How were passports found intact at crash sites?
• Final point: The aftermath of 9/11 saw civil liberties curtailed, illegal tactics employed, and some parties profiting—a theme to be further explored in the next episode.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the official narrative and the encouragement of conspiracy:

  "It's possible that there are people who wanted conspiracy theories to thrive. The more far out, the better. The more time people spend wondering about directed energy weapons, the less time they focus on the obvious, the facts hiding in plain sight." — Carlson [00:14]

• On WTC 7:

  "The collapse of Building 7 is completely unaddressed in the 9/11 Commission Report, 577 pages, but no explanation as why Building 7 fell." — Carlson [02:58]

• On the disposal of evidence:

  "An unknown number of steel columns has been sent off to mills as far away as Asia without ever having been examined or saved." — Carlson quoting the NYT [06:28]

• Comparing fires in similar buildings:

  "So why then did Building 7 collapse after just 7 hours of burning in a way that no steel frame building anywhere in the world has ever collapsed?" — Carlson [07:42]

• On Prof. Hulsey's findings:

  “Office fires of the kind in Building 7 on 9/11 could not have produced sufficient thermal expansion to cause the crucial girder to fail. It's impossible, he found.” — Carlson [08:43]

• On foreign intelligence:

  "The Israelis are always for the Israelis, first, last, always. They don't like the United States except for the most part, our money and yet our National Security Agency is producing information for them..." — Michael Scheuer [25:46]

• On the need for a new investigation:

  "As Americans, we need Washington to create a new truly independent commission, one that does not lie and instead investigates what happened on 9/11 and answers the questions we've posed in this episode." — Carlson [28:41]

Important Segment Timestamps

• Suppression of evidence & encouragement of conspiracy: [00:14]
• Building 7 collapse & official neglect: [02:58 – 04:56]
• Disposal of rubble & lack of investigation: [05:15 – 06:28]
• Alternative collapse theories, controlled demolition studies: [08:43 – 13:40]
• Media foreknowledge (BBC reporting): [16:27]
• Unusual financial trades before 9/11: [17:34]
• Foreign intelligence, NSA information sharing: [20:20 – 24:16]
• Israeli assets, 'art students', and 'Dancing Israelis': [24:16 – 28:27]
• Final call for accountability and unanswered questions: [28:41 – end]

Tone & Language

This episode reflects Carlson's signature skeptical, investigative, and sometimes provocative tone. He challenges official narratives and is relentless in raising questions ("The government enacted measures that suspended constitutional protections. The freedoms this country was created to protect, they're gone now.” [28:56]). The language is direct, often accusatory, and leans into the themes of government overreach, foreign interference, and the consequences of secrecy.

Summary

Episode 4 of The 9/11 Files asks hard-hitting questions about the official story, with a focus on Building 7, missing evidence, ignored warnings, and unusual behavior by foreign intelligence agencies. The episode uses expert analysis, witness testimony, and mainstream news reports to challenge the accepted narrative, ultimately calling for a genuine, independent reinvestigation of 9/11 and transparency about the facts—something, Carlson insists, the public has never truly received.