Tom Cotton Defends Tulsi Gabbard: No One Should Question Her ‘Patriotism Or Integrity’

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said defended President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the director of National Intelligence, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), saying that no one should be questioning her patriotism or integrity.

Cotton made the remarks during a Sunday interview on “Fox News Sunday” ahead of Gabbard’s confirmation hearing this week in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a committee that is chaired by Cotton.

Host Shannon Bream asked Cotton about concerns that some members had about Gabbard’s past interactions with foreign adversaries or things that she has said about people who betrayed the U.S.

Cotton said that he has spoken with Gabbard on many occasions, as have the other senators, and that they have also received her background back from the FBI along with her financial disclosures.

He said that she will receive a full hearing on Thursday that will be “just like the hearing that we conducted for John Ratcliffe and the hearings that the committee has conducted for nominees from both the Democratic and Republican Presidents alike. No more, no less, no better, no worse.”

“I understand that people have their differences of opinion with Mrs. Gabbard, probably some Republicans disagree with the votes she’s cast as a Democratic Congresswoman,” he said. “A lot of Democrats may be upset that she finally saw the light and left the Democratic Party.”

“I do hope, though, that we won’t see anyone questioning her patriotism,” Cotton added. “Hillary Clinton has basically called her a traitor in the past. This is a woman who served more than 20 years in our nation’s army. She’s passed five different background checks. I reviewed the latest one. It’s clean as a whistle. It’s fine for people to have policy differences and ask questions about those differences. I hope no one would impugn Mrs. Gabbard’s patriotism or her integrity.”

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