On Friday, former Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), who has been selected by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the director of national intelligence, reportedly issued a statement in which she defended a crucial spying strategy that she had previously attempted to have removed from the statute.
This was an attempt to reassure Republican senators.
“My prior concerns about FISA were based on insufficient protections for civil liberties, particularly regarding the FBI’s misuse of warrantless search powers on American citizens. Significant FISA reforms have been enacted since my time in Congress to address these issues. If confirmed as DNI, I will uphold Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like Section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people,” Gabbard said in the statement.
After speaking with Kim Strassel of the Wall Street Journal, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) identified Gabbard’s previous support for the repeal of Section 702 of the Federal Information Security Act (FISA) as a critical sticking point in the confirmation process.
Gabbard’s comment came a few days after Lankford and Strassel’s conversation.
Lankford emphasized that he and his fellow Republicans wanted to make sure that Gabbard had every opportunity to convince them that she was suitable for the position through a process that was fair.
He also informed Strassel that her response to queries on her previous stance on House Resolution 702 would be an essential component in winning them over.
Gabbard has traversed the political spectrum, going from being a progressive ally of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to becoming a Republican convert and a MAGA influencer.
However, her support for 702 authority represents a significant departure from her long-held anti-war and anti-interventionist sentiments.
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