House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Newsmax on Tuesday that former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden exposed the extent of government surveillance on Americans, which might explain why Tulsi Gabbard hesitated to call him a traitor during her Senate confirmation hearing.
Jordan told "Finnerty" that Gabbard, a former Democrat representative from Hawaii and President Donald Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence, recognized the significance of the information Snowden revealed.
"I think she believes that the information we got from Snowden helped us understand what we later learned was the government actually spying on the American people," Jordan said.
During her confirmation hearing last week, multiple senators, including Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., asked Gabbard if she considered Snowden a traitor. Gabbard appeared to struggle with her response.
Jordan linked Snowden's disclosures to broader concerns about government surveillance, citing the FBI's handling of a warrant to surveil Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
"We know from James Comey, for example, we know they altered a document," Jordan said, referring to the former FBI director fired by Trump early in his first term.
"The Clinton campaign paid the law firm Perkins Coie, who hired Fusion GPS, who hired a foreigner, Christopher Steele, who put together a fake document that they then took to the court, the FISA court, the secret court, to get a warrant to go spy on President Trump's campaign," Jordan said.
Snowden, Jordan said, "was sort of the front end of what the government was up to." He acknowledged that Snowden broke the law but emphasized the leaks provided critical insight into government activities.
"He also gave us information that, wow, that was actually going on in our government?" Jordan said. "I think that's what Tulsi was trying to get across."
Jordan also defended Gabbard's stance on reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, saying she is committed to ensuring surveillance focuses on foreign threats.
"She is committed to changing FISA, making sure we're only spying on foreigners," Jordan said. "If they're going to come after Americans, they're going to use your name, your phone number, your email address … they've got to go get a warrant from a separate and equal branch of government and prove there's probable cause."
Gabbard's nomination has faced partisan resistance despite her past as a rising star in the Democratic Party. Jordan attributed the opposition to what he described as the party's radical shift.
"The left now controls the Democrat Party," Jordan said. "Not all Democrats are crazy, but the left that controls their party is, and they are just radical."
He recalled inviting Gabbard to testify on government pressure on social media companies, saying Democrats turned against her for speaking out.
"They were so committed to stifling speech from conservatives, to going against the First Amendment," Jordan said. "That's why they're against her now."
Despite the opposition, Jordan predicted Gabbard would be confirmed. The full Senate is expected to vote on her confirmation as early as next week, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
"God bless her, she was great in that hearing, even though the Democrats came after her," he said.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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