Follow us on social

Tulsi Gabbard confirmation hearing

Snowden, Snowden, Snowden! Tulsi grilled on little else

Senators play gotcha games at Gabbard's confirmation hearing today

Analysis | QiOSK

Though well ensconced at home in Russia, accused leaker and U.S. defector Edward Snowden nonetheless took center stage at former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearing for Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Thursday, and frankly, he never left.

For her part, Gabbard utilized her opening remarks to focus on what she perceives would be her intelligence role, explaining that previous Intelligence Community (IC) decisions — including “failures” but also “fabrications”— have led to major foreign policy blunders, a toll on American servicemen and women, and precipitated massive human suffering.

“Our complete failure of intelligence…has led to costly failures and the undermining of our national security and god-given rights enshrined in the constitution,” Gabbard elucidated to the Senate Intelligence Committee. “The most obvious example of one of these [U.S. intelligence] failures is our invasion of Iraq based upon a total fabrication, our complete failure of intelligence. This disastrous decision led to the deaths of tens of thousands of American soldiers, millions of people in the Middle East…the rise of ISIS, the strengthening of Al Qaeda and other Islamist Jihadist groups.”

Gabbard connected such remarks to ongoing developments in Syria, citing a 2012 email where Obama's assistant national security advisor Jake Sullivan told then secretary of state Hillary Clinton that “[Al Qaeda] is on our side in Syria.”

“Syria is now controlled by al-Qaeda offshoot HTS, led by an Islamist Jihadist who danced in the streets on 9/11, and who was responsible for the killing of many American soldiers,” Gabbard explained.

Explaining that time in the military and Congress taught her "the heavy costs of intelligence failures and abuses,” Gabbard said she would "work to end the politicization of the intelligence community” and “ensure there is a clear mission focus in the IC on its core mission of…unbiased, apolitical collection and analysis of intelligence” as DNI.

As expected, senators (mostly Democrats, but Republicans, too) asked Gabbard if she supported 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and repeatedly questioned Gabbard’s 2017 meeting with then Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. On the first, Gabbard reiterated that she did support the authority (a shift from her earlier position) and to the second, responded that “I believe that leaders — whether you be in Congress or the President — can benefit greatly by going and engaging with people whether they be adversaries or friends."

But beyond that, senators repeatedly slammed Gabbard’s position on Edward Snowden, a whistleblower/hero or traitor depending on who is doing the talking. Snowden had leaked thousands of classified documents exposing widespread NSA surveillance on Americans in 2013. Gabbard, working with then Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, introduced legislation to drop Snowden’s charges in 2020.

Senators repeatedly asked Gabbard if she would call Snowden a traitor. Gabbard conceded Snowden broke the law and that she would no longer push for his pardon, but maintained he released documents critical to revealing the extent of the American government’s illegal spying on Americans. He landed in Russia on the way to asylum elsewhere in 2013 (his U.S. passport was revoked) and obtained Russian citizenship in 2022.

“Edward Snowden broke the law, and he released information in a way that he should not have,” Gabbard said in response to Senator Ted Budd’s (R-NC) questions about Snowden. “He also acknowledged and exposed information that was unconstitutional, which drove a lot of the reforms that this body has made over the years to make sure that American’s constitutional rights are protected.”’

The predominance of Snowden in the hearing was not lost on media observing the spectacle.

"Senators Michael Bennet and James Lankford and others beclowned themselves with obsessive questions about Snowden — a man who committed a crime over a decade ago but one who exposed abuses by our government," said The American Conservative's Curt Mills in the New York Times. "Their focus revealed the kind of myopia that has now twice motivated Americans to vault Trump into power."

After almost three hours of questioning, Gabbard’s confirmation process subsequently shifted to a closed door session, with a confirmation vote to be scheduled “ASAP.” Gabbard can't afford to lose one Republican vote in order for Chairman Tom Cotton to move forward from the Intelligence Committee to a full Senate vote "with confidence." As Intercept reporter Matt Sledge posited, “if Thursday’s questioning was any indication, the vote could hinge on Gabbard’s position on Snowden.”


Top photo credit: CSPAN screenshot, 1/30/25
Analysis | QiOSK
Trump's most underrated diplomatic win: Belarus
Top image credit: Brian Jason and Siarhei Liudkevich via shutterstock.com

Trump's most underrated diplomatic win: Belarus

Europe

Rarely are foreign policy scholars and analysts blessed with as crystalline a case study in abject failure as the Western approach to Belarus since 2020. From promoting concrete security interests, advancing human rights to everything in between, there is no metric by which anything done toward Minsk can be said to have worked.

But even more striking has been the sheer sense of aggrieved befuddlement with the Trump administration for acknowledging this reality and seeking instead to repair ties with Belarus.

keep readingShow less
These Israeli-backed gangs could wreck the Gaza ceasefire
Ashraf al-Mansi walks in front of members of his Popular Army militia. The group, previously known as the Counter-Terrorism Service, has worked with the Israeli military and is considered by many in Gaza to be a criminal gang. (Via the Facebook page of Yasser Abu Shabab)

These Israeli-backed gangs could wreck the Gaza ceasefire

Middle East

Frightening images have emerged from Gaza in the week since a fragile ceasefire took hold between Israel and Hamas. In one widely circulated video, seven blindfolded men kneel in line with militants arrayed behind them. Gunshots ring out in unison, and the row of men collapse in a heap as dozens of spectators look on.

The gruesome scenes appear to be part of a Hamas effort to reestablish control over Gaza through a crackdown on gangs and criminal groups that it says have proliferated during the past two years of war and chaos. In the minds of Israel and its backers, the killings reveal Hamas’ true colors — and represent a preview of what the group may do if it’s allowed to maintain some degree of power.

keep readingShow less
Poland farmers protest EU
Top photo credit: Several thousand people rally against a proposed EU migration scheme in Warsaw, Poland on 11 October, 2025. In a rally organized by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party thousands gathered to oppose the EU migration pact and an agriculture deal with Mercosur countries. (Photo by Jaap Arriens / Sipa USA)

Poland’s Janus face on Ukraine is untenable

Europe

Of all the countries in Europe, Poland grapples with deep inconsistencies in its approach to both Russia and to Ukraine. As a result, the pro-Europe coalition government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk is coming under increasing pressure as the duplicity becomes more evident.

In its humanitarian response to Ukraine since the war began in 2022, Poland has undoubtedly been one of the most generous among European countries. Its citizens and NGOs threw open their doors to provide food and shelter to Ukrainian women and children fleeing for safety. By 2023, over 1.6 million Ukrainian refugees had applied for asylum or temporary protection in Poland, with around 1 million still present in Poland today.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.