CNN panel stunned after Bakari Sellers calls Tulsi Gabbard 'a puppet for the Russian government'

Bakari Sellers shocked his fellow CNN panelists on Tuesday when he called Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) a puppet for the Russian government.

During a discussion of Tuesday's upcoming Democratic primary debate, Sellers accused Gabbard of being fundamentally different from all the other candidates on the stage, and he darkly hinted that she has loyalties in places other than the United States.

"There is a chance that Tulsi is not just working for the United States of America, but I digress," he said.

"Wait a minute, what?" a shocked April Ryan asked.

Sellers then went on to elaborate his accusations.

"I firmly believe that Tulsi Gabbard stands on that stage as the antithesis to what the other 11 individuals stand for, especially when it comes to issues such as foreign policy," he said. "There's no question, there is no question that Tulsi Gabbard, of all the 12, is a puppet for the Russian government."

CNN's Alisyn Camerota pushed back on Sellers' claim and asked him to back it up with evidence.

Sellers responded by pointing to Gabbard's past defenses of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, but he couldn't point to any specific evidence tying the congresswoman to Russia.

Watch the video below.