WASHINGTON (AP) — About 100 former senior U.S. diplomats, intelligence and national security officials are conducting an overhaul of government documents related to President Donald Trump’s national pick, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. We asked Senate leaders to schedule a closed-door hearing to allow for this. Director of Intelligence.
Former officials who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations said they were “alarmed” by Gabbard’s selection to oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. They said her past actions “call into question her ability to provide impartial intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and the entire national security establishment.”
A spokeswoman for Gabbard on the Trump transition team on Thursday called the allegations a “baseless” and “partisan” attack.
Asked Thursday whether intelligence sharing with allies could be at risk under the next administration, Avril Haines, the current director of national intelligence, cited the importance of alliances and said that Congress would He noted strong bipartisan support for allies.
Questions at the Council on Foreign Relations meeting focused on particularly close intelligence sharing between the Five Eyes of the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He did not mention Gabbard by name.
“It’s hard for me to believe that people who come here don’t want to maintain that kind of relationship,” Haynes said. “So we don’t think they’re at significant risk,” she added. “I hope that continues.”
Those who signed the letter include former Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller, former National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, and numerous retired ambassadors and senior officials. Ta.
On Wednesday, they will send a letter to current Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and incoming Republican Majority Leader John Thune to hold a private conference as part of the Senate’s review of Trump’s leadership changes. I requested that.
They told a Senate committee that “the U.S. government should consider all available information in considering Ms. Gabbard’s qualifications to manage our nation’s intelligence agencies and, more importantly, the protection of our nation’s intelligence sources and methods.” “The information will be considered in a closed meeting.”
The letter addresses Gabbard’s 2017 meeting with President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. President Assad is supported by Russia, Iran and the Iranian coalition in his now 13-year war with Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow him.
The United States, which has severed ties with Assad and imposed sanctions over his war effort, has sent around 900 troops to rebel-held northeast Syria, saying it is necessary to prevent a resurgence of the extremist group. Maintains an army of people.
At the time of her trip to Syria, Gabbard, a Democratic lawmaker from Hawaii, drew intense criticism for her meetings with America’s brutal leader.
As the letter points out, her statements about the war in the Middle East and Ukraine are consistent with Russian talking points and diverge from U.S. positions and policies.
Throughout her political career, Gabbard has urged the United States to limit its military involvement overseas, except to fight Islamic extremists. She defended her trip to Syria, saying it was necessary to engage America’s enemies.
In a social media post earlier this year, she acknowledged that the United States had had her on a “secret terrorist watch list” for some time as a “potential domestic terrorism threat.” She denounced political retaliation. Neither she nor U.S. authorities have publicly detailed the circumstances involved.
Alexa Henning, Gabbard’s spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, said the letter sent to Senate leaders was a “perfect example” of why Trump chose Gabbard for this role. .
“These baseless attacks are the work of geniuses bled by decades of false ‘information,'” Henning said, adding that “these baseless attacks are the work of geniuses bled by decades of false ‘information,'” using classified government information “to defame and imply things about political opponents.” “They are using it as a partisan weapon,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Thune did not immediately respond to questions about the request.
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