Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), President Donald Trump‘s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, testified Thursday before the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence.
Gabbard has come under fire from Democrats for criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, an American ally, as a corrupt leader and for expressing sympathetic views on Russia’s position in the Ukraine-Russia war.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said on MSNBC: “Do you really want her to have all of the secrets of the United States and our defense intelligence agencies when she has so clearly been in Putin’s pocket?”
During Gabbard’s testimony, former NSA intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked U.S. classified documents and became a Russian citizen in 2022, wrote on X:
“Tulsi Gabbard will be required to disown all prior support for whistleblowers as a condition of confirmation today. I encourage her to do so. Tell them I harmed national security and the sweet, soft feelings of staff. In D.C., that’s what passes for the pledge of allegiance.
Tulsi Gabbard will be required to disown all prior support for whistleblowers as a condition of confirmation today. I encourage her to do so. Tell them I harmed national security and the sweet, soft feelings of staff. In D.C., that’s what passes for the pledge of allegiance. pic.twitter.com/Z1OmOHgvdU
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 30, 2025
At the hearing, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) asked Gabbard, “Do you still think Edward Snowden is brave?”
She replied, “Edward Snowden broke the law. I do not agree with or support, with all of the information and intelligence that he released, nor the way in which he did it.” She added that while Snowden broke the law, he did “expose egregious illegal and unconstitutional programs that are happening within our government.”
A Democrat Senator just tried to bait Tulsi Gabbard into condemning Edward Snowden, but she did NOT bite.
Senator: “Do you still think Edward Snowden is brave?”
Gabbard: “Edward Snowden broke the law… But he also released information that exposed egregious, illegal, and… pic.twitter.com/7gNssfGnDt
— George (@BehizyTweets) January 30, 2025
When Warner asked her “yes or no” do you think he’s brave, she repeated her answer, “He broke the law” and revealed “illegal activities” within the U.S. government.