'Cozying up to dictators': Intel experts sound alarm about 'historically unfit' Tulsi Gabbard

05 December 2024

During the Cold War, countless Republicans were — along with Democrats — blistering critics of the Kremlin. But the MAGA movement has had its share of Republicans who aren't shy about defending Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The late conservative Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) considered Donald Trump a "disgraceful" Putin apologist. And Putin's vocal MAGA defenders have included former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who spent much of her political career as a Democrat but is now a far-right MAGA Republican.

Trump has nominated Gabbard for national intelligence director, but it remains to be seen whether or not she will be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2025.

In an article published on December 5, The Guardian lays out reasons why many people in the intelligence community are so alarmed by the nomination.

Intel experts have been troubled not only by Gabbard's willingness to defend of Putin and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but also, by her defense of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"Within Washington foreign policy circles and the tightly knit intelligence community," The Guardian explains, "Gabbard has long been seen as dangerous. Some have worried that she seems inclined toward conspiracy theories and cozying up to dictators. Others, including the former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, have gone further, calling her a 'Russian asset.'"

The Guardian adds, "Those concerns have been heightened by Gabbard's nomination under Donald Trump to the post of director of national intelligence, a senior cabinet-level position with access to classified materials from across the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, and shaping that information for the president’s daily briefing. The role would allow her to access and declassify information at her discretion, and also direct some intelligence-sharing with U.S. allies around the world."

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois), a Never Trump conservative who endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the United States' 2024 presidential race, has been an outspoken critic of the nomination.

In a scathing article published by The Bulwark on November 19, Kinzinger warned, "I worry what might happen to untold numbers of American assets if someone as reckless, inexperienced, and outright disloyal as Gabbard were DNI."

A Guardian source described as someone "familiar with discussions among senior intelligence officials" told the publication, "There is real concern about her contacts (in Syria) and that she does not share the same sympathies and values as the intelligence community. She is historically unfit."

Read The Guardian's full report at this link.

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