In an opinion piece published in Newsweek Feb. 2 and updated on Feb. 3, Tulsi Gabbard, whose nomination for Director of National Intelligence was just confirmed by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, explained why she refused to label Edward Snowden, a former NSA intelligence contractor and whistleblower, a traitor. In the article, entitled “Why I Am the Right Choice To Lead the Office of National Intelligence,” Gabbard includes parts of her opening remarks to the Intelligence Committee, but also added those she made during the closed hearing that followed the public one, reporting on the explanation she gave the Senators on why “I do not casually throw around” the term “treason.”
Throughout the period of her nomination and hearings, Committee members, other Members of Congress and the media harped on her refusal to condemn Snowden as a traitor, in effect demanding she do so as a condition for getting the votes she needed. The implication was that if she didn’t do that, she must agree with Snowden’s actions. But Gabbard told the closed hearing that treason is a capital offense, punishable by death. “Yet politicians like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former U.S. Senator Mitt Romney have slandered me, Donald Trump, Jr. and others with baseless accusations of treason. It is essential to focus on the facts, not the label.”
She agreed that Snowden should have raised his concerns about illegal surveillance through authorized channels instead of leaking to the media.” That’s why, as DNI, she said, she’ll ensure proper oversight to make sure there are no “illegal or unconstitutional intelligence collection programs,” and also make sure that every member of the workforce knows about “legal options for whistleblowers.” And, she vowed, that will include setting up a hotline for whistleblowers that will go directly to her.
