'Conspiracy Theorist' Tulsi Gabbard Officially Made Director of National Intelligence Job – Despite Secret Meeting With Bashar Assad, Pro-Putin Comments and Landing on Government Watchlist
Tulsi Gabbard was confirmed as the Director of National Intelligence.
Feb. 12 2025, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
Despite a laundry list of controversies, Donald Trump nominee Tulsi Gabbard has been confirmed as the latest Director of National Intelligence, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Like several other Trump cabinet picks, Gabbard's nomination was met with uproar due to her checkered past, including once being on a government watchlist and her infamous 2017 secret meeting with Bashar Assad, then-president of Syria.
Despite concerns over Gabbard's vulnerability in the top intelligence position, Republicans confirmed President Trump's pick.
In addition to meeting with Assad, who has close ties with Russian despot Vladimir Putin, critics also questioned whether Gabbard could be trusted in the top government position citing her past sympathetic comments towards Russia.
The former Hawaii representative has branded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "corrupt" and claimed U.S. assistance for Ukraine jeopardized global security.
After Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Gabbard took to then-Twitter and wrote: "This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia's legitimate security concerns."
Russian state-controlled media called Gabbard 'superwoman' over her past pro-Putin comments.
Gabbard's pro-Putin comments have even been picked up by state-run media in Russia.
Ahead of her Senate confirmation, state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti called Gabbard "superwoman" and highlighted her past appearances on Russian TV.
RIA Novosti further claimed Gabbard's outspoken comments towards the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war likely led Ukrainian intelligence to view her as "an agent of the Russian special services."
Gabbard was grilled over her secret 2017 meeting with then-Syrian president Bashar Assad at her confirmation hearing.
Her secret meeting with Assad also raised eyebrows and were addressed in her Senate confirmation hearing. She is believed to have met with the former dictator three times over two days, though the details of the meetings are unclear as the submitted report on her trip and itinerary submitted beforehand differed.
During her hearing, Gabbard insisted she had "no love" for the former Syrian president or any dictator.
She defended her controversial 2017 trip by claiming "leaders, whether you be in Congress or the president of the United States, can benefit greatly by going and engaging boots on the ground."
Gabbard further claimed she asked Assad "tough questions about his own regime's actions" regarding human rights violations including "the use of chemical weapons and the brutal tactics that were being used against his own people."
Gabbard previously introduced legislation to have Edward Snowden's espionage charges dropped.
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In addition to her meetings with Assad and comments on Russia, Gabbard has also come under fire for her sympathy toward Edward Snowden, a former NSA intelligence contractor and whisleblower who leaked classified information about surveillance programs.
Snowden fled the country in 2013 before the leak. The same year, he was indicted for espionage and had his passport revoked. Two days after the charges were unsealed, he flew to Moscow, where he was later granted asylum. He officially became a Russian citizen in 2022.
Gabbard has issued support for Snowden over the years. During her confirmation hearing, Gabbard agreed Snowden broke the law but said his leak "released information that exposed egregious, illegal and unconstitutional programs," despite the global risks they inflicted.
She further refused to say whether or not she still supported legislation she put forward with former Rep. Matt Gaetz calling on his espionage charges to be dropped.
