Maine Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins were among several lawmakers on Thursday who pressed President Trump's pick for intelligence chief about her position on Edward Snowden, the federal contractor who leaked thousands of pages of classified documents.
Former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard faced critical questions from senators on both sides of the aisle during a nearly three-hour-long confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senators questioned Gabbard — Trump's nominee for the director of national intelligence — about her statements appearing to blame the U.S. and NATO for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and for her private meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Senators also peppered Gabbard — a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve — about her previous statements about Snowden, including calling him a "brave whistleblower." Snowden is a former National Security Agency contractor who leaked classified documents to the media dealing with intelligence gathering for which he has been hailed by some as a whistleblower and labeled a traitor by others.
Gabbard said repeatedly during Thursday's Senate Intelligence Committee meeting that Snowden broke the law. But King, an independent, seemed unimpressed with that response.
"You introduced a bill in Congress, along with Congressman Matt Gaetz, to essentially pardon him," King said. "So, he broke the law, but it wasn't all that serious? Is that what you thought back in 2020?"
Gabbard responded, "I take very seriously upholding our constitution and have sworn an oath to support and defend that constitution over eight times in my life. My statements in the past have been reflective of the egregious and illegal programs that were exposed in that leak."
In response to a question from Collins, Gabbard indicated that she would not support pardoning or offering clemency to Snowden, who now lives in Russia. But Collins, a Republican, also criticized another bill from Gabbard named the "Protect Brave Whistleblowers Act."
"I strongly oppose this legislation which would hamper our ability to prosecute people who give our adversaries classified information," Collins said.
Gabbard responded that the intent of her bill was to ensure due process for people charged under federal espionage laws, which she said have been abused in the past.
Collins' work in the Senate following the September 11 terrorists attacks led to the creation of the position that Gabbard now seeks. The Republican also said she was "alarmed by the lack of focus" by the nation's intelligence community on terrorist organizations.
Gabbard is regarded as one of Trump's most vulnerable nominees.
