Tulsi Gabbard Grilled By Skeptical GOP Senators In Senate Confirmation Hearing

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Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the director of national intelligence, faced tough questions from Republicans during her Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, including about her past support for Edward Snowden, who leaked information on classified intelligence programs in 2013.

Four Republican members of the Senate Intelligence Committee pressed Gabbard, a former Democrat who endorsed Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign, to forcefully condemn the former NSA contractor and disavow legislation she once proposed calling for charges to be dropped against him.

Over and over again, Gabbard refused, putting into doubt whether her nomination will advance to the Senate floor. She can’t afford to lose any GOP member of the committee.

“Edward Snowden broke the law. I do not agree with or support all the information or intelligence which he released, nor the way he did it,” Gabbard said repeatedly in response to the senators’ questions.

When Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) asked Gabbard to reassure the intelligence community by answering, yes or no, whether Snowden betrayed his country, Gabbard declined and said, “I’m focused on the future.”

Lankford told reporters afterward that he was “surprised” by the answer.

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), a potential swing vote on the nomination, also expressed frustration with Gabbard’s reluctance to acknowledge that Snowden’s actions harmed national security.

“It would befit you and be helpful to the way you are perceived to the members of the Intelligence Committee if you at least acknowledge that the greatest whistleblower in American security, so-called, harmed national security,” Young said.

Gabbard did engage with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), another swing vote, however, committing not to advocate for pardon or clemency for Snowden if confirmed to the position.

During her time in Congress, the Hawaii representative advocated ending key intelligence programs after Snowden’s leaks that exposed the government’s interception of U.S. citizens’ phone calls and electronic messages. She has since reversed her opposition to those programs in a bid to win GOP support for her nomination, maintaining she would support them if confirmed to the job.

Democrats also grilled Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who served two tours in the Middle East, over Snowden’s comments, as well as her meeting in 2017 with then-Syrian President Bashar Assad, and for her repetition of Russia’s arguments about its invasion of Ukraine, including by suggesting Moscow had justification to do so.

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“This is when the rubber hits the road. This is not a moment for social media,” Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said. “It’s not a moment to propagate conspiracy theories… This is when you need to answer questions of the people whose votes you’re asking for.”

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) also questioned Gabbard’s judgment and her pivot on supporting intelligence programs she once fiercely opposed.

“I have to tell you, as I try to make this a job interview, as I try to make my judgment on whether you should be confirmed, I don’t find your change of heart credible,” Warner said.

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