Fox News Anchor Sandra Smith has to remind Marsha Blackburn that Nord Stream 2 isn’t working

Fox News host Sandra Smith had to step in and remind Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on Monday afternoon that a recently completed Russian gas pipeline to Europe was actually not working, and therefore, does not provide any current revenue to the Russian government.

While interviewing conservative lawmaker on Fox News’ US ReportSmith raised global uproar over the latest atrocities committed against Ukrainian civilians in Russia’s gratuitous war and wondered if this would increase US involvement in the region. are not.

“Do we need to be tougher when it comes to sanctions, senator?” Smith asked.

“Oh, that’s right,” Blackburn exclaimed. “We need to be tougher on economic sanctions, need sanctions on Nord Stream 2. Sandra, in a way that [Russian President Vladmir] Putin can finance this war because you’ve got France, Germany and other EU countries that still buy oil and gas from Russia. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States imposed sanctions on the company in charge of building and operating Nord Stream 2, a divisive energy project designed to increase gas flows. between Russia and Germany.

While the pipeline is completed in September 2021, gas has yet to flow through it as German regulators halted the certification process in November when Russia began massing troops on the border. Ukrainian world. As Putin prepared for war against Ukraine, Germany halted the project altogether. The German president has since said it was a “mistake” not to abandon the pipeline sooner.

After saying that the United States needs to increase production and “return to being a net exporter of oil”—the United States remains a net energy exporter and exports more gasoline than it imported last year—Blackburn again demanded that take action against Nord Stream 2.

“You have to make sure that our allies and partners don’t buy oil and fuel from Russia,” she said. “That would be an order. And go back and put those sanctions on Nord Stream 2. What sends the fastest message? Put sanctions back on Nord Stream and say we won’t let you do that.”

At this point, Smith wanted to know if Blackburn was confusing Nord Stream 1 – an age-old pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe – with Nord Stream 2. (Notably, Smith himself was fact-checked. last month about the impact of the Keystone XL pipeline on US oil supplies.)

“But some say that’s not even a source of revenue in the first place, that gas isn’t even flowing right now,” the Fox News host noted.

“Are you talking Nord Stream or Nord Stream 2?” Smith added. “Because it wasn’t money in Putin’s pocket in the first place.”

However, Blackburn simply rejected Smith’s comments while not providing any further clarity.

“Sandra, what it does is provide certainty about where we are going,” replied the Republican senator. “And that’s the super important thing to do.”