Virginia Democrat Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Thursday that he would not vote to confirm former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
Warner made the announcement on MSNBC. He said his decision revolves around Gabbard’s refusal to label NSA leaker Edward Snowden as a traitor.
To recap, in 2013, Snowden leaked classified information from the National Security Agency revealing surveillance programs spearheaded by the United States. The U.S. Department of State revoked his passport after he was charged with violating the Espionage Act of 1917. Snowden fled to Russia, where airport officials observed his canceled passport. After a month of staying in the airport, Russia granted Snowden asylum. In September 2022, he was granted Russian citizenship.
Snowden was brought up multiple times in Gabbard's confirmation hearing this week.
“We get about half our intelligence from our allies around the world. There’s no requirement that they share that with us. They share that on trust. If this individual can’t say Edward Snowden, who shared our secrets and other secrets, is a traitor, will these other countries, our Five Eye partners, partners around the world, will Israel’s Mossad share that information with us on an ongoing basis? That will make us weaker if they don’t share that,” Warner said in the interview.
“If you’re not willing to stand up for them, if you’re not willing to send out a signal, this role of director of national intelligence, you’ve got 18 agencies, $100 billion, if you’re not willing to call out Edward Snowden as a traitor, you shouldn’t have that job,” he told Lawrence O’Donnell.
Warner continued that he was “happy to tell you and your audience tonight that I will definitely be voting against Ms. Gabbard.”
In her hearing, Gabbard said she did not “agree with or support with all of the information and intelligence that [Snowden] released, nor the way in which he did it.”
Gabbard to Sen. Mark Warner: "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... The fact is, he also, even as he broke the law, released information that exposed egregious,… pic.twitter.com/wpK7y5526C
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