Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as intelligence chief looked to be in serious trouble Friday as Republican senators expressed concerns about her answers at a confirmation hearing. President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for director of national intelligence angered Republicans by refusing to condemn government leaker Edward Snowden as well as her unorthodox foreign policy views on Russia and
Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden defended former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, following a fiery
When one lawmaker asked if she believed Mr. Snowden was a traitor, Ms. Gabbard simply said that she was ‘focused on the future.’
Gabbard was questioned by Republicans and Democrats alike on her views of Snowden and whether she believes he was a traitor. She declined to say she believed he was a traitor, repeating that she felt he had broken the law and reiterating a point that she has made in the past, that he exposed practices that have resulted in the reform of 702.
In 2020, then-Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard introduced legislation calling on the federal government to drop all charges against Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor who in 2013 revealed the existence of the bulk collection of American phone records by the NSA before fleeing to Russia.
Any one of those resume bullet points might be enough to sink her precariously perched nomination, but in her confirmation hearing today it was Edward Snowden that dominated the discussion. Judging from the line of questioning from senators in both parties,
Gabbard's previous comments about Snowden, responsible for one of the most damaging leaks of sensitive U.S. intelligence, were the focal point of her hearing.
The GOP-led Senate hasn't yet rejected any of Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees, but Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appear to be on shaky ground.
Republicans in the Senate — some, anyway — raised their eyebrows in surprise when Tulsi Gabbard, the president’s pick to lead up national intelligence, refused to say whether Edward Snowden was a traitor or patriot for leaking classified documents in 2013.
In dueling confirmation hearings, Trump’s DNI pick appeared on shaky ground after refusing to condemn Edward Snowden as a “traitor,” while FBI director nominee Kash Patel won plaudits from Republicans.
Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard refused to call Edward Snowden a traitor when pressed by senators on the hearing committee.