Conspiracy theorist Gabbard confirmed as new U.S. spy chief

by Frankie TAGGART

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday as Donald Trump's choice to lead the country's intelligence services, despite criticism over her lack of experience and past support for Russia and Syria.

Gabbard -- appointed to be director of national intelligence -- has faced questions over her 2017 meeting with now-deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and her peddling of Kremlin propaganda, particularly false conspiracy theories about the Ukraine war.

She is also regarded with suspicion over her views on U.S. government surveillance and her backing for National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden, seen on both sides of Congress as having imperiled Americans' safety.

Gabbard scraped through a 52-48 floor vote -- with former Senate leader Mitch McConnell as the sole Republican "no" -- as Democrats warned that she had no business being anywhere near the country's most sensitive classified secrets.

"On the night that Russia invaded Ukraine and launched the first full-scale invasion of a sovereign nation in Europe since World War II, what was Ms. Gabbard doing?" Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, said ahead of the vote.

"She was spending her energy blaming NATO and the U.S. for what Putin did... That alone should be disqualifying for anyone seeking to become the top intelligence advisor to the president."

Schumer said Gabbard, 43, had blown her chance to reassure senators over her judgment at her confirmation hearing and accused Republicans of ignoring her "troubling history of pushing conspiracies and spreading propaganda."

Gabbard's success was seen as another powerful demonstration of Trump's iron grip on his party, after he pushed through a slate of some of the most contentious cabinet nominees in modern history.

- Controversial picks -

The president proposed a defense secretary accused of sexual assault, an attorney general suspected of trafficking a minor for sex, a health secretary who spent years spreading vaccine misinformation and an FBI chief alleged to be motivated by political revenge.

Only the suspected sex trafficker -- former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz -- has so far been rejected by the Senate.

Gabbard -- who ran for president as a Democrat in 2020 -- had looked vulnerable but three Republican holdouts all ended up lining up behind the Hawaiian US Army Reserve officer.

Maine Republican Susan Collins said the one-time lawmaker had addressed concerns over her past support for pardoning Snowden, who was indicted for espionage after revealing the existence of global surveillance programs.

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana released a terse, lukewarm endorsement of the nominee.

"President Trump chose Tulsi Gabbard to be his point person on foreign intelligence," he said. "I will trust President Trump on this decision and vote for her confirmation."

Gabbard's confirmation came as Democrats accused Trump's FBI nominee Kash Patel of directing a purge of bureau officials in secret, a day after testifying under oath that he was unaware of any such plan.

"If these allegations are true, Mr. Patel may have perjured himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee," Dick Durbin, the panel's top Democrat, said in a letter to the Justice Department Inspector General.

Durbin wrote that whistleblowers had told him Patel passed orders for the firings to acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller acting as a middleman.

"Although Mr. Patel is President Trump's nominee to be FBI Director, he is still a private citizen with no role in government," he added.

© Agence France-Presse