Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard launched a forceful defense of her congressional testimony regarding Iran’s nuclear capabilities after President Donald Trump appeared to dismiss her remarks during a high-profile conversation with CNN aboard Air Force One.
The controversy erupted when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins directly confronted Trump about Gabbard’s previous statements to Congress.
Collins specifically referenced Gabbard’s March testimony, telling the president that his intelligence chief had testified the intelligence community believed Iran wasn’t currently building a nuclear weapon.
Trump’s response was characteristically blunt and dismissive.
“I don’t care what she said,” the president replied without hesitation.
“I think they were very close to having one.”
The president’s statement appeared to contradict his own intelligence director’s assessment, creating immediate speculation about divisions within the administration.
The apparent disconnect between Trump and Gabbard quickly became a major talking point across political and media circles.
Gabbard wasted little time responding to the controversy, moving swiftly to clarify her position and defend her previous statements.
The Hill reported that Gabbard insisted that she and Trump remained completely aligned on Iran’s nuclear threat assessment, despite the president’s dismissive comments about her testimony.
The intelligence director launched a pointed attack on media coverage of her congressional appearance.
She accused news outlets of deliberately misrepresenting her testimony by stripping away crucial context that would have provided a more complete picture of her assessment.
“President Trump was saying the same thing that I said in my annual threat assessment back in March,” Gabbard stated in an official comment later confirmed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“Unfortunately, too many people in the media don’t care to actually read what I said.”
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence moved quickly to support Gabbard’s version of events, the Daily Caller reported.
Alexa Henning, deputy chief of staff to the Director of National Intelligence, took the unusual step of publicly sharing full transcript excerpts from Gabbard’s March congressional testimony.
The complete testimony revealed a far more complex and nuanced intelligence assessment of Iran’s nuclear program than initial media reports suggested.
Gabbard told lawmakers that the Intelligence Community continued to maintain its assessment that Iran was not currently engaged in building a nuclear weapon.
She specifically noted that Supreme Leader Khomeini had not authorized resumption of the nuclear weapons program that Iran had suspended in 2003 following international pressure.
The Caller further noted that Gabbard’s congressional testimony also included stark warnings about troubling developments in Iran’s nuclear program and public rhetoric.
The intelligence director emphasized that the Intelligence Community had identified concerning trends that warranted serious attention from policymakers and the American public.
The most significant development highlighted by Gabbard involved changes in how Iranian officials and commentators discussed nuclear weapons in public forums.
“In the past year, we’ve seen an erosion of a decades-long taboo in Iran on discussing nuclear weapons in public, likely emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran’s decision-making apparatus,” Gabbard testified before Congress.
Gabbard also highlighted Iran’s rapidly expanding nuclear infrastructure and materials stockpile during her March congressional appearance.
The post Tulsi Gabbard Fires Back at Media After Trump Seemingly Dismisses Her Iran Nuclear Assessment appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: Jordyn M.
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