Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper, 65, asked the question during a closed-door briefing in Congress on Wednesday, Carlson revealed on his show Friday. 

'We are not tied to Russia, of course,' Carlson said. 'It's a cable television program. He knows that. But that is not the point.'  

'So in retaliation for that, Jim Cooper has asked the intel agencies to dig up dirt on us,' he added. 'To be clear, that is not allowed. It is illegal to use the U.S. Government to settle partisan scores or to silence opposition journalists.' 

Carlson told viewers that Cooper - a Blue Dog Coalition member who is planning to retire in January after serving in Congress for 32 years - 'admitted what he did today when we asked him,' and was 'too cowardly to come on tonight to explain how he could justify that.' 

Dailymail.com reached out to Cooper's office for comment.

Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper, 65, asked the question during a closed-door briefing in Congress on Wednesday, Carlson revealed on his show Friday. 

'We are not tied to Russia, of course,' Carlson said. 'It's a cable television program. He knows that. But that is not the point.'  

'So in retaliation for that, Jim Cooper has asked the intel agencies to dig up dirt on us,' he added. 'To be clear, that is not allowed. It is illegal to use the U.S. Government to settle partisan scores or to silence opposition journalists.'