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A group of nearly 100 former national security officials urged the Senate to “carefully scrutinize” former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), President-elect Trump’s nominee to serve as director of national intelligence.
The letter raises a number of concerns about Gabbard, a former Democratic representative and presidential candidate, questioning her level of experience and a series of past controversial comments, as well as a meeting with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Gabbard has come under fire for sharing opinions that counter the conclusions drawn by the intelligence community that she would oversee through the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which coordinates among the 18 intelligence agencies.
Those views, the officials wrote, call into question “his ability to provide impartial intelligence briefings to the president, Congress and the entire national security apparatus.”
“The Senate must carefully assess whether Ms. Gabbard is equipped to effectively oversee such a unique and large organizational structure as the National Intelligence Program and also the effect that position has on the will of our closest allies. close to sharing information with the US.”
Trump’s transition team said the letter was an effort to “defame and imply things about his political enemy without revealing the facts.”
The letter points to her trip to Syria as an example of Gabbard aligning herself “with Russian and Syrian officials.”
“She publicly cast doubt on US intelligence reports and overwhelming public reports that Assad carried out chemical weapons attacks against Syrian civilians, lending credence to the debunked conspiracy that the attack was carried out by agents of the United Kingdom,” the group wrote in an organized letter. for Foreign Policy for America.
They added: “In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in early 2022, Ms Gabbard similarly released a video insinuating that US-funded laboratories in Ukraine were developing biological weapons and that Ukraine’s commitment to NATO posed a threat to Russian sovereignty, both arguments initially used by Russia to justify its illegal invasion of Ukraine sympathy for dictators like Vladimir Putin and Assad raises questions about his judgment and fitness.”
The letter also encourages senators to consider Gabbard in a closed session, so they can weigh “all information available to the US government” about Gabbard, including her obligation to protect intelligence sources and methods.
The letter also argues that Gabbard lacks the typical executive experience associated with nominees for the role, calling her “the least experienced Director of National Intelligence since the position was created.”
Gabbard faces one battle up for supportin the Senate
Signatories to the letter include former Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security John Tien, both Biden officials, as well as officials from the State Department, the National Security Council, the military and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence who have served under presidents of both parties.
Trump transition spokeswoman Alexa Henning slammed the authors.
“This is a perfect example of why President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard for this position. These baseless attacks are from the same geniuses who have blood on their hands from decades of flawed ‘intelligence’, including non-existent weapons of mass destruction. mass destruction. These intelligence officials continue to use the classification as a partisan weapon to smear and insinuate things about their political enemy without revealing the facts,” he said in a statement.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) also defended Gabbard, calling her “a decorated combat veteran who is trying to save America from unnecessary foreign wars and end illegal government operations against the American people , and that’s exactly why they voted for Donald Trump.”
“The ‘experts’ are angry at this rejection of their failed consensus,” he said wrote on social platform X.
