WASHINGTON — The full U.S. Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday despite a contentious confirmation hearing in which she was repeatedly asked about her support of Edward Snowden.
Gabbard, while in Congress, proposed a bill that would force a pardon on Snowden, who released top-secret National Security Agency secrets that exposed the "massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building," he told The Guardian at the time.
Over and over, Gabbard was asked if she believed Snowden was a traitor.
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Raw Story approached two Republican Senators who supported Gabbard in the vote to ask if they believed Snowden was a traitor.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said, "It's a complicated question, isn't it?"
Ten years ago, it wasn't as complicated for him. In a May 2015 interview with CNN Johnson said, “Our first line of defense is an effective intelligence-gathering capability combined with a robust, continuous monitoring and oversight of our intelligence agencies to make sure we’re not violating Americans’ civil liberties. I think the demagoguery, the revelations of Edward Snowden have done great harm to our ability to gather that information.”
On Wednesday, Johnson repeated, "It's a complicated question. I think he put lives at risk."
Raw Story asked about Gabbard's position on the matter, and Johnson continued to repeat the comment that it was "complicated."
Sen. Tommy Tubervile (R-AL) wasn't in the Senate when the Snowden leak happened.
"I don't know a lot about that. So I'm not going to comment on it."
Raw Story asked if he had looked up the accusations since it was such a big issue in the Gabbard hearing. He indicated he had not. He also voted to approve Gabbard.