Washington, Jan 30 (EFE) – Tulsi Gabbard, United States President Donald Trump’s nominee for intelligence director, faced tough questions on Thursday at a Senate hearing about her positions on Syria, Russia and her defense of Edward Snowden, the former analyst who leaked classified information in 2013.
Gabbard, a former Democratic House representative from Hawaii who has become a staunch Trump ally, raised concerns among of the Democratic and Republican parties and the national security community.
She has sparked controversy for past comments about Vladimir Putin’s “legitimate security concerns” in Ukraine, an independent 2017 visit to Damascus where she met with Assad, and her for Snowden.
“Those who oppose my nomination imply that I am loyal to something or someone other than God, my own conscience, and the constitution of the United States, accusing me of being Trump’s puppet, Putin’s puppet, Assad’s puppet, a guru’s puppet, Modi’s puppet, not recognizing the absurdity of simultaneously being the puppet of five different puppet masters,” she said.
“I have no love for Assad or Gaddafi or any dictator. I just hate al-Qaida. I hate that we have leaders who cozy up to Islamist extremists,” Gabbard added.
However, Mark Warner, the committee’s top vice chairman, said he didn’t find her “change of heart credible,” referring to Gabbard’s toned-down remarks on Syria and Russia on Thursday.
The hearing was tense and reached its climax when Democratic Senator Michael Bennet demanded that Gabbard unequivocally state whether she considered Snowden a traitor, which she refused to do.
During her time as a Hawaii congresswoman (2013-2021), Gabbard pushed a bill that would have dropped charges against Snowden, who leaked thousands of National Security Agency documents and fled to Russia, where he now lives.
Snowden responded to the hearing on X, saying that Gabbard “must disavow all past for whistleblowers as a condition of confirmation.”
“I encourage her to do so. Tell them I harmed national security and the sweet, soft feelings of staff. In DC, that’s what es for the pledge of allegiance,” he added.
In the past, Gabbard played a prominent role in the Democratic Party, even running in the 2020 presidential primary against Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
She left the party in 2022 to become an independent and ed the Republican Party in 2024 after endorsing Trump.
After Thursday’s hearing, the Senate Intelligence Committee will vote on her nomination. If approved, it will go to the full Senate, where Republicans hold a majority.
If she wins, Gabbard will become director of national intelligence, a cabinet-level post created after the 9/11 attacks to coordinate the work of the 18 US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA, and FBI intelligence divisions. EFE
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