Tulsi Gabbard's surprise visit to an FBI evidence truck during a raid on election documents in Georgia has left lawmakers stunned. The former presidential candidate, now serving as director of national intelligence, was spotted lurking around the truck in Fulton county, sparking concerns about her role and motivations.
Georgia Democrats are questioning why Gabbard, who has been a vocal proponent of conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election, was present at the scene. Senator Jon Ossoff described her appearance as "bizarre" and called for an investigation into whether she had strayed outside her lane as director of national intelligence.
Senator Mark Warner echoed this sentiment, labeling Gabbard as "totally unqualified" to lead the nation's spymasters due to her past associations with conspiracy theories. He argued that her presence at the raid was a potential breach of her obligation to keep the intelligence committees informed about relevant national security concerns.
An unnamed senior administration official attempted to justify Gabbard's presence, stating that foreign threats to election integrity justified her role in election security and protecting against interference targeting voting systems and election infrastructure. However, this explanation has not been corroborated by Gabbard herself.
Gabbard's office is reportedly compiling research on the 2020 election on behalf of the White House and former President Trump, an activity that would normally fall outside her purview as director of national intelligence. The lack of transparency from her staff, including a failed attempt to deliver a statement after being spotted at the raid site, has only added to the controversy.
Lawmakers are now calling for an explanation into the matter, with Representative Nikema Williams of Atlanta expressing concerns that the raid serves to intimidate voters and election officials rather than further legitimate law enforcement aims. Representative Joaquin Castro is also demanding answers, urging the intelligence committee to investigate Gabbard's involvement in the raid.
Georgia Democrats are questioning why Gabbard, who has been a vocal proponent of conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election, was present at the scene. Senator Jon Ossoff described her appearance as "bizarre" and called for an investigation into whether she had strayed outside her lane as director of national intelligence.
Senator Mark Warner echoed this sentiment, labeling Gabbard as "totally unqualified" to lead the nation's spymasters due to her past associations with conspiracy theories. He argued that her presence at the raid was a potential breach of her obligation to keep the intelligence committees informed about relevant national security concerns.
An unnamed senior administration official attempted to justify Gabbard's presence, stating that foreign threats to election integrity justified her role in election security and protecting against interference targeting voting systems and election infrastructure. However, this explanation has not been corroborated by Gabbard herself.
Gabbard's office is reportedly compiling research on the 2020 election on behalf of the White House and former President Trump, an activity that would normally fall outside her purview as director of national intelligence. The lack of transparency from her staff, including a failed attempt to deliver a statement after being spotted at the raid site, has only added to the controversy.
Lawmakers are now calling for an explanation into the matter, with Representative Nikema Williams of Atlanta expressing concerns that the raid serves to intimidate voters and election officials rather than further legitimate law enforcement aims. Representative Joaquin Castro is also demanding answers, urging the intelligence committee to investigate Gabbard's involvement in the raid.
this is getting crazy! Tulsi Gabbard showing up at an FBI raid with no explanation is like, what's going on here? 
I'm all for election security and keeping foreign threats at bay, but not if it means flouting protocol and sparking conspiracy theories. 
The fact that her office is doing research for the White House and Trump without transparency is shady as heck 
. And now Reps are calling for an investigation? Yeah, let's get to the bottom of this! 
I'm rooting for Nikema and Joaquin on this one - we need transparency and accountability in our government! 
I'm a bit concerned about Tulsi Gabbard's recent visit to that FBI evidence truck in Georgia. As someone who's gotten older and wiser, I've always believed in following the facts and not jumping into uncharted territory. Now, with her background in conspiracy theories, it's hard for me to put my mind at ease when she's involved in something like this.
but now we're talking about her office doing research for Trump? What's going on here? 
It sounds like she's trying to be both sides... I don't get it. If she was gonna do something, just own it, you know? The lack of transparency from her staff is killing me 
and now lawmakers are calling for an investigation? Yeah, about time someone took a closer look at what's really going on here 
And now her office is doing research for the White House and Trump? 
and now her office is like working for the white house and trump on election security research idk how much more suspicious it gets 
It seems like she's just stirring up trouble again. 
And now there are all these lawmakers calling for an investigation, which is cool, because transparency is important, you know? 
... tulsi gabbard's all about spreading conspiracy theories and now she's showing up at an FBI raid on election documents? 
like, shouldn't we know what they're working on? research for the white house and trump? that sounds super suspicious to me 
that's not right at all
let's get to the bottom of this
as director of national intel, she's supposed to be focusing on actual threats not just right wing misinformation 
lawmakers are right to call for an investigation 
we need transparency here, not more mystery