US President Donald Trump offered a shifting account of why Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, attended an FBI raid at an election center in Georgia. In his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump claimed that Gabbard went to Fulton County after being urged by Attorney General Pam Bondi, citing her role in overseeing election security.
This contradicts Trump's earlier assertion that he didn't know why Gabbard was present and diverged from her own account to lawmakers. The conflicting statements have raised eyebrows over the unusual involvement of the Director of National Intelligence in a domestic law enforcement operation, given her lack of authority in such matters.
Trump's revised explanation marks a departure from his remarks on NBC News Wednesday, where he simply stated he didn't know why Gabbard was present. Instead, he now suggests that China interfered in the 2020 election without offering concrete evidence.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt attempted to justify Trump's remarks by claiming they were taken out of context, focusing on his comments about election security being essential to national security. However, this downplays a crucial distinction: Gabbard has authority over intelligence assessments related to election security but lacks formal involvement in domestic law enforcement operations.
This comes as Gabbard is leading her own review of the 2020 election at Trump's approval, working separately from the Justice Department investigation. Her presence at the FBI raid may have been part of this effort to observe voting machine manipulation claims that Trump has cited as evidence of an election being stolen.
The shifting explanations surrounding Gabbard's attendance at the FBI raid underscore the importance Trump places on the 2020 election nearly six years after his loss to Joe Biden.
This contradicts Trump's earlier assertion that he didn't know why Gabbard was present and diverged from her own account to lawmakers. The conflicting statements have raised eyebrows over the unusual involvement of the Director of National Intelligence in a domestic law enforcement operation, given her lack of authority in such matters.
Trump's revised explanation marks a departure from his remarks on NBC News Wednesday, where he simply stated he didn't know why Gabbard was present. Instead, he now suggests that China interfered in the 2020 election without offering concrete evidence.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt attempted to justify Trump's remarks by claiming they were taken out of context, focusing on his comments about election security being essential to national security. However, this downplays a crucial distinction: Gabbard has authority over intelligence assessments related to election security but lacks formal involvement in domestic law enforcement operations.
This comes as Gabbard is leading her own review of the 2020 election at Trump's approval, working separately from the Justice Department investigation. Her presence at the FBI raid may have been part of this effort to observe voting machine manipulation claims that Trump has cited as evidence of an election being stolen.
The shifting explanations surrounding Gabbard's attendance at the FBI raid underscore the importance Trump places on the 2020 election nearly six years after his loss to Joe Biden.
I'm so confused by this whole thing... Tulsi Gabbard is a Director of National Intelligence, right? So, shouldn't she be more involved in national security stuff? But apparently, she's leading her own review of the 2020 election and showing up to an FBI raid because of something about voting machine manipulation? 
And now Trump says China interfered in the election without giving any proof? Come on, right? 
I guess he's just trying to distract us from something else. But honestly, it's hard to keep up with all these conflicting stories and explanations. Can someone please just give me some straight answers for once? 
I mean, I get that he wants to talk about election security and all that, but come on, can't we trust a Director of National Intelligence not to know what's going down in a domestic law enforcement op? 
this whole thing just smells like an attempt to discredit joe biden and further erode trust in our democracy 
. It's not like he was trying to distract from his own party's shenanigans or anything 
. Anyway, I'm pretty sure Trump's version of events is a big ol' plate of spaghetti - you take one strand, it says Gabbard was urged by Pam Bondi... then you take another, it says China interfered... and then you're left with a mess 
. Oh wait, it gets better! The White House thinks they can just downplay the fact that Tulsi is leading her own review of the 2020 election because... reasons? 
Give me a break. I mean, what's going on here? Is she investigating Trump's own claims about election security or something? 
This just feels like more smoke and mirrors from the White House. 
He needs to stop playing politics with national security and the integrity of our elections. This whole thing reeks of him trying to discredit the FBI and make Tulsi Gabbard look bad. And now he's claiming China interfered in the 2020 election without any evidence? Give me a break! 
I mean, who knew that Tulsi Gabbard was involved in an FBI raid at an election center? It's like, what's going on here? 
But at the end of the day, it's Gabbard who's doing the real work here, leading her own review of the election. That's some major FOMO right there! 
... I don't get why Trump is being all secretive about it, can someone explain this to me? 
... like, what's going on behind the scenes? 
I wish she would just come clean about it, you know?
anyway, gabbard is still on the case investigatin the 2020 election and makin sure voting machine manipulation dont happen... props to her for keepin it real 