Tulsi Gabbard slams Democrats over ‘Putin, Modi’ puppet charge

Former Democrat turned Trump supporter accuses her detractors of attempting to instigate religious bigotry against Hindus and Hinduism

By Arun Kumar

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s controversial nominee for national intelligence director has pushed back against Democrats’ charges that she was a puppet of foreign leaders like Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Democrats have accused me of being Trump’s puppet, Putin’s puppet, (deposed Syrian President Basher al-) Assad’s puppet, and Modi’s puppet, but what truly unsettles them is I refuse to be their puppet,” she said at her confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

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Gabbard, 43, the first Hindu American elected to the House of Representatives, in turn accused her detractors of attempting to instigate religious bigotry against Hindus and Hinduism.

“Democrat senators in the past resorted to anti-Christian bigotry against some of President Trump’s judicial nominees like Amy Coney Barrett and Brian Buescher,” said the Democrat turned Trump supporter vying for the top intelligence job overseeing 16 spy agencies.

“I condemned those actions as a Democrat in Congress at the time, as religious bigotry must be thoroughly condemned by all of us, no matter the religion,” she said.

“Unfortunately, there are some Democrat senators who still don’t understand the principle of freedom of religion and Article 6 of the Constitution. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States,” she said.

“Unfortunately, they’re once again using the religious bigotry card, but this time trying to foment religious bigotry against Hindus and Hinduism,” she said.

Gabbard, a former Army lieutenant colonel also faced tough questions about her views on Edward Snowden, former National Security Agency intelligence contractor and whistleblower, who leaked classified documents revealing the existence of global surveillance programs before defecting to Russia.

Over and over, members of the panel from both sides of the aisle asked Gabbard about Snowden. And over and over, she came back with a repeated, stock answer that did not appear sufficient for them, according to the Hill.

Gabbard co-authored legislation supporting a pardon for Snowden and supported a bill that would have given increased whistleblower protections for individuals accused of violating the Espionage Act — both of which were anathema to members on the Intelligence panel.

The issue exploded when Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) asked her twice if Snowden was a traitor. She demurred both times.

“My heart is with my commitment to our Constitution and our nation’s security,” Gabbard said, laying out four actions she would take to prevent another future Snowden-like leak. “Senator, I’m focused on the future and how we can prevent something like this from happening again,” she said after Lankford asked a second time.

Those answers prompted Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) to ask the question three additional times before letting loose on Gabbard for her inability to give a “yes” or “no” answer. In total, more than a half-dozen members asked her about the now-Russian citizen, with Gabbard repeatedly responding that Snowden “broke the law” and that she disagreed with how he released the information.

Gabbard needs to win over a pair of Senate Republicans who are believed to be on the fence about her nomination: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Todd Young (Ind.). She cannot afford to lose even a single Republican vote on the committee, according to the Hill.