Senator Mark Warner to publicly criticize Tulsi Gabbard in a Senate speech for alleged conflict with the intelligence community
Senator Mark Warner Escalates Criticism of Tulsi Gabbard's Leadership in US Intelligence
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia is intensifying his critique of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, accusing her of undermining intelligence professionals and compromising the integrity of US intelligence.
In a forthcoming Senate speech, Warner plans to warn of the dangers of the steps Gabbard has taken atop the US intelligence apparatus. He will argue that the safeguards in place, the oversight provided by this body, only function effectively if intelligence officers can truthfully disclose information without fear of losing their jobs.
Warner's speech will highlight a series of actions taken by Gabbard and other Trump administration officials, including the firing of numerous intelligence officials, such as the chairman and deputy chairman of the National Intelligence Council and the general leading the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The senator will deride the role that Laura Loomer, the controversial far-right activist, has played in successfully lobbying for these dismissals. Loomer's criticism led to the cancellation of an oversight visit Warner had planned to speak to officials at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Virginia.
Warner has previously criticised Gabbard for declassifying documents related to the intelligence community's assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election. He will claim that these documents do not support Gabbard's assertion that the assessment was a hoax.
Gabbard has been accused by Democrats of using Russia investigation documents to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein files and to punish political enemies. She has responded to Warner's criticism by saying she is working to "root out those deep state bad actors" in the intelligence community.
CNN has reached out to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for comment on Warner's planned remarks. Loomer said on X earlier this month that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency chief should be fired. There is no verified information that anyone has commissioned Loomer to fire the head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
If analysts believe their careers will be destroyed for offering inconvenient assessments, then we will only get the intelligence the White House wants, according to Warner's planned speech. What may be most astonishing, he plans to say, is who seems to be calling the shots - not seasoned national security leaders, but conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.
Warner has accused Gabbard of stripping the security clearances of 37 officials last month as a "transparently political act of vengeance." The speech is scheduled for delivery on Thursday.
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