Tulsi Gabbard has national security 'experts' worried: 'DNI has access to every single secret'



There is a pattern developing with regard to President-elect Donald Trump's recent nominations: He announces someone apparently well suited to executing the agenda he successfully campaigned on; those with vested interests in the status quo panic; and establishmentarians viciously attack the nominees, pleading with nominal Republicans in the U.S. Senate to prevent their confirmation.

This pattern has been repeated for multiple picks, including former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Although virtually all of Trump's nominations have ruffled feathers, his choice of Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard to serve as the director of national intelligence appears to have inspired a special kind of unease among Democratic lawmakers, the liberal media, and elements of the intelligence community.

The media

The Atlantic's Tom Nichols rushed to characterize Gabbard's nomination as a "national security risk," complaining that she previously suggested NATO might have had something to do with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and that Syria did not pose a direct threat to the United States.

"Gabbard is a classic case of 'horseshoe' politics," Nichols warned. "Her views can seem both extremely left and extremely right, which is probably why people such as Tucker Carlson — a conservative who has turned into … whatever pro-Russia right-wingers are called now — have taken a liking to the former Democrat (who was previously a Republican and is now again a member of the GOP)."

The Washington Examiner's Tom Rogan suggested that by nominating Gabbard, Trump — who was kneecapped in his first term by a malignant counterintelligence investigation and whose 2020 political adversary was given narrative cover prior to the election by CIA contractors and intelligence community alumni — "is putting his distrust of the intelligence community before the critical interests of national security."

After trotting out the Syria and Russia-themed attacks against Gabbard, then insinuating that she is a sympathizer with the communist Chinese regime, Rogan warned that if confirmed, she would supervise "all U.S. intelligence agencies' collection, analysis, and mission efforts and the production and dissemination of the U.S. government's most sensitive intelligence reporting and analysis. This includes knowledge of spies buried deep inside foreign governments and terrorist organizations."

'This appointment is sending shock waves here in the United States.'

Bill Kristol quoted Jonathan Last, editor of the neocon blog the Bulwark, as writing, "Making Gabbard DNI simply makes no sense. ... Or rather, it makes no sense for America. For Russia, DNI Gabbard makes all the sense in the world."

Last appeared particularly upset over Gabbard's opposition to fruitless foreign entanglements and ineffectual U.S. sanctions.

Dems and spooks spooked

"This appointment is sending shock waves here in the United States but also around the globe," John Brennan, former director of the CIA and chief counterterrorism adviser to former President Barack Obama, said in conversation with MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace.

Brennan, one of the signatories of the infamous Hunter Biden "intel" letter, likened the 18 intelligence agencies that Gabbard would oversee to an orchestra, suggesting that she likely doesn't even know what instruments are being played.

Former Bush adviser John Bolton, a key proponent of America's disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq, suggested to NewsNation's "The Hill" that with Trump's "announcement of Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence, he's sending a signal that we have lost our mind when it comes to collecting intelligence."

One former senior intelligence official who spoke under the condition of anonymity told Politico that the choice was a "left turn and off the bridge."

Another intelligence official warned that America's allies, including Israel, might withhold information from Washington if Gabbard were the DNI, adding, "What some allies share may now be shaped by political goals rather than professional intelligence sharing."

An unnamed "Western security source" similarly suggested to Reuters that Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand may be less forthcoming about the intelligence they collect, stressing that foreign nations believe Trump's appointments all lean in the "wrong direction."

Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger (Va.), a former CIA officer who now warms a chair on the House Intelligence Committee, suggested on X that Gabbard, who served in Iraq and Kuwait, would be an oath-breaker.

"The men and women of the U.S. Intelligence community honor their oaths by collecting the vital intelligence that keeps our fellow Americans safe. The global threats we face require a Director of National Intelligence who would do the same. Tulsi Gabbard is not that person," wrote Spanberger.

The former spook, echoing Nichols, appears to have unwittingly highlighted what has the establishment panicking, telling The Hill, "The DNI has access to every single secret that the United States has, every single bit of information that we know. … It's the keys to the intelligence community kingdom."

Larry Pfeiffer, former chief of staff at the CIA under the Bush administration, told The Hill, "Some of the statements she has made through the years that sound like they came right out of the Kremlin's talking points paper are a little bit alarming. Her cozying up to Bashar al-Assad and being an apologist for him as well just raise questions in my mind. Is that really the best person to put in charge of this very complicated, very sensitive operation that is the U.S. intel community?"

Jamil Jaffer, a former House Intelligence Committee staffer and national security prosecutor, told The Hill, "What is unusual here is you've got somebody who's had such a long and vociferous track record of saying things that are factually incorrect, that seem to give aid and comfort to U.S. adversaries and that undermine the very people they should be representing at the principals committee."

As with Hegseth and Gaetz's critics, those denouncing Gabbard appear to be exponents of the very worldview and policy conventions that Trump was effectively elected to obliterate.

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James Clapper ridiculed for about-face on his 2020 suggestion that the Hunter Biden laptop story had 'all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation'



Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper may soon have to face facts about an impactful and misleading letter he penned with other intelligence officials ahead of the 2020 presidential election. His letter implied that the New York Post's damning report on Hunter Biden's emails was part of a "Russian information operation."

Now, with a congressional investigation into the matter in the works and the liberal mainstream media in belated agreement that the Hunter Biden laptop and the data thereon were authentic, Clapper appears desperate to revise the record.

Rather than admit to possibly misusing his former credibility and credentials to protect a political candidate in a fraught election, Clapper has instead elected to suggest that the media misconstrued his and other intelligence community partisans' meaning concerning the laptop story.

This timely deflection of accountability has been met with outrage and ridicule, with some critics questioning why Clapper and others have waited over two years to point the fingers at Politico and other media outfits.

What is the background?

On Oct. 19, 2019, James Clapper, former director of national intelligence; Leon Panetta, former head of the CIA; John Brennan, former head of the CIA; Michael Hayden, former head of the National Security Agency; Nick Rasmussen, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center; Mike Vickers, former under secretary of defense for intelligence; and dozens of others penned a letter entitled, "Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails."

The letter declared that the Hunter Biden laptop story and the evidence it discussed were likely all an utter fabrication — that the story had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."

Despite admitting in the letter to not knowing whether the Hunter Biden emails provided to the New York Post were "genuine" and having no "evidence of Russian involvement," Clapper and his peers suggested a "laptop op" designed "to discredit Biden ... would be consistent with some of the key methods Russia has used in its now multi-year operation to interfere in our democracy."

The authors of the now-discredited letter added, "Our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case. If we are right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this."

According to former Attorney General Bill Barr, it was not Russia but Clapper and fellow intelligence alumni who used disinformation to influence how Americans voted in the 2020 election.

Barr told conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt last year, "The intelligence officials suggesting that it was Russian disinformation in order to essentially keep a cork in it until after the election ... I think that that probably affected the outcome, or at least there is a very distinct probability of that."

Then-candidate Joe Biden used the letter to great effect, referencing it in the final presidential debate with former President Donald Trump on Oct. 22, 2020, saying, "Look, there are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plan. They have said that this has all the characteristics — four, five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage. Nobody believes it except him and his good friend Rudy Giuliani."

Biden utilized the discredited letter on another occasion in conversation with "60 Minutes," where he said, "From what I’ve read and know, the intelligence community warned the president that Giuliani was being fed disinformation from the Russians. And we also know that Putin is trying very hard to spread disinformation about Joe Biden. And so when you put the combination of Russia, Giuliani, and the president together, you assess what it is. It’s a smear campaign because he has nothing he wants to talk about in his — what is he running on? What is he running on?"

While partisan operatives and the FBI reportedly worked with social media companies to kill the New York Post story online, the liberal media amplified the claims made in the intel officials' letter.

Politico ran a story by Natasha Bertrand entitled "Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say" on Oct. 19, 2020, just weeks before the election.

Bertrand had been given the letter by a former top aide under CIA director John Brennan, a signatory of the letter.

The aide claimed, "The IC leaders who have signed this letter worked for the past four presidents, including Trump. The real power here however is the number of former, working-level IC officers who want the American people to know that once again the Russians are interfering."

While parroting the suggestions made in the letter, Bertrand also advanced claims by Biden's top advisers, including their rebukes of credible accusations concerning the Bidens' business dealings in Ukraine and elsewhere.

Glenn Greenwald tweeted Monday, "The pre-election lie -- and that's what it was -- that the NY Post's reporting was based on 'Russian disinformation' was first disseminated by @Politico and @NatashaBertrand , who was rewarded for her lying by being hired by CNN."

\u201cThe pre-election lie -- and that's what it was -- that the NY Post's reporting was based on "Russian disinformation" was first disseminated by @Politico and @NatashaBertrand, who was rewarded for her lying by being hired by CNN. \n\nJames Clapper now says they *deliberately* lied\ud83d\udc47\u201d
— Glenn Greenwald (@Glenn Greenwald) 1676313870

Clapper unwilling to take the hit

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote to Clapper, Brennan, Hayden, and several other signatories of the letter on Feb. 6, accusing them of falsely implying the New York Post's reporting about Hunter Biden was the product of Russian disinformation.

In a previous letter sent on April 6, 2022, Jordan and other Republicans noted that Clapper's "public statement served as a basis for Democrat operatives to try to delegitimize the scandalous allegations about Hunter Biden and the Biden family."

The April letter added, "At best, the public statement was a reckless attempt by you and your co-signatories to erroneously opine about purported election interference. At worse—and more likely—the public statement was a deliberate and coordinated effort to mislead the American people about information relevant to the 2020 presidential election by invoking your national security experience to falsely suggest that the allegations about Hunter Biden were not based in fact."

Now that he is required to testify before Congress, Clapper is accusing Bertrand of having "deliberately" lied about the letter — an accusation he has apparently waited over two years to make.

Glenn Greenwald said, "It's amazing what's going on here. Because of the House hearing investigating this, the political and media establishment can't ignore what they did any longer. So now they're turning on each other, blaming one another for the disinformation campaign."

"If James Clapper knew Politico and Natasha Bertrand were lying about what their letter said, why didn't he say so then? Reality: the CIA/IC people lying wanted the media to spread this. Only now that someone has to take the hit is Clapper saying Politico lied," added Greenwald.

\u201cVery good point: if James Clapper knew Politico and Natasha Bertrand were lying about what their letter said, why didn't he say so then?\n\nReality: the CIA/IC people lying wanted the media to spread this. Only now that someone has to take the hit is Clapper saying Politico lied.\u201d
— Glenn Greenwald (@Glenn Greenwald) 1676313870

When afforded an opportunity to clarify his meaning on CNN in October, Clapper, who allegedly lied to Congress in 2013, suggested that the emails serving as the basis of the Hunter Biden laptop story could be fake and "is just classic textbook Soviet Russian tradecraft at work."

\u201c\u201cTo me, this is just classic textbook Soviet Russian tradecraft at work,\u201d former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says as authorities are investigating if recently published emails are tied to a Russian disinformation effort targeting Biden. https://t.co/shyMNnJ7Yr\u201d
— CNN (@CNN) 1602905492

In an apparent about-face, Clapper recently told the Washington Post, "There was message distortion. ... All we were doing was raising a yellow flag that this could be Russian disinformation. Politico deliberately distorted what we said. It was clear in paragraph five."

Glenn Kessler, a so-called fact-checker at the Washington Post, attempted to reinforce Clapper's accusation on Monday, suggesting that the Politico headline "likely shaped perceptions of the letter that continue to this day. The article itself does not say the letter made a disinformation claim."

Like Clapper, Politico too is apparently unwilling to assume any blame.

Politico told the Post that its "article fairly and accurately reported on — and summarized — the intelligence officials’ letter. More specifically, the headline is a fair summary of their allegations, the subhead offers additional context, and the first paragraph of the article hyperlinks to the letter itself, allowing readers to draw their own conclusion."

New York Post columnist Miranda Devine told Fox News Digital that Clapper's greatly delayed desire to clarify his remarks "show what a fraud he is, and that he's worried now the GOP controls the House and has vowed to haul in the signatories and make them testify under oath. He's trying to pre-shape the narrative."

Devine added, "They were silent. That was the message they wished to convey, and now they are scrambling because the GOP House is about to hold them accountable."

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Report: Biden admin still won't rule out theory that COVID-19 came from Wuhan lab accident



The Biden administration is still open to the idea that the coronavirus escaped from the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology, according to a new report.

What is the Biden administration saying?

The office of the Director of National Intelligence told NBC News that the agency, now led by Biden appointee Avril Haines, stands by a statement released by the office last April.

That statement said:

As we do in all crises, the Community's experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security. The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.

In fact, a "western intelligence official" told NBC News the U.S. government "has substantial intelligence" proving the Chinese government attempted to cover up the virus and "obscure" the origins of the pandemic.

The classified material, which NBC News said was corroborated by a U.S. official, is significant enough that officials have been unable to rule out an accident having happened at the Wuhan lab, resulting in an accidental release of the COVID virus.

What is the background?

As TheBlaze reported, investigators with the World Health Organization claimed last week that it is "extremely unlikely" COVID-19 came from the Wuhan bio laboratory.

Those investigators reached their conclusion after investigating for less than one month.

"The findings suggest that the laboratory incidents hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the introduction of the virus to the human population," Peter Ben Embarek, an expert with the WHO food safety and animal diseases division, said, the Associated Press reported.

Shockingly, the WHO reversed course just days later when WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "all hypotheses remain open."

"The expert team is still working on its final report and we look forward to receiving both the report and a full briefing," he said. "Some questions have been raised as to whether some hypotheses have been discarded. I want to clarify that all hypotheses remain open and require further study."

Anything?

Still, despite President Joe Biden restoring U.S. funding of the WHO when he entered office, the Biden administration voiced distrust with the international body last week, citing the investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

In fact, Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, expressed "deep concerns" with the credibility of the WHO.

"We have deep concerns about the way in which the early findings of the COVID-19 investigation were communicated and questions about the process used to reach them," Sullivan said.

"It is imperative that this report be independent, with expert findings free from intervention or alteration by the Chinese government," he added.

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