Tulsi Gabbard was briefly on government watch list

Donald Trump’s intelligence chief nominee’s inclusion on the list was the result of a computer algorithm, CNN reports

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Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick for US intelligence chief, has previously been placed on a government watch list.
Ms Gabbard, who has been nominated as director of national intelligence, was subject to additional security screening ahead of flights given her foreign connections and overseas travel patterns, sources told CNN.
Several officials said it was highly unusual, if not unprecedented, for someone to be elevated to the top spot in the intelligence community after being placed on such a list.
The former congresswoman, who has previously been accused of pushing Russian propaganda, was removed from the “Quiet Skies” list in September after claiming publicly it was retaliation for criticising Kamala Harris, the vice-president.
However, CNN reported that her inclusion on the list was the result of a computer algorithm.
A webpage on “Quiet Skies” from the Transport Security Administration states that its purpose is to “focus on travellers who may present an elevated risk to aviation security” and “may require enhanced screening”.
This is said to be based on “travel patterns and other intelligence-based factors”.
Federal air marshals are instructed to “observe” those included on the list while they are in the airport and onboard the flight.
“The TSA placed me on the Quiet Skies domestic terror watchlist in what I can only describe as the ultimate betrayal,” Ms Gabbard wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, in September.
“The Harris-Biden regime has now labelled me a domestic terror threat. Why? They see me as a threat to their power.”
One official said that Ms Gabbard would normally be forced to explain the reason for her foreign travel and contacts that had led to her inclusion on the list as part of the process of becoming national intelligence director.
However, Donald Trump has indicated that some of his nominees may not have to undergo the normal background check process, raising questions about what she will be required to disclose.
Quiet Skies is not a terror watchlist and reportedly has much laxer standards for inclusion than the FBI’s terrorist watch list.
The former congresswoman has had two controversial meetings with Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator, and cast doubt on claims that his regime is responsible for deadly gas attacks. She appeared to blame the US and Nato when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
It comes after Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador and contender for the Republican presidential nomination, criticised Ms Gabbard for her “disgusting” visit to Assad in 2017.
“Everything she said about that was Russian talking points, Russian propaganda,” she said, adding that national intelligence director was a “job for an honest broker without any pronounced policy biases”.
Steven Cheung, Mr Trump’s communications director, said in a statement: “If Nikki Haley has criticisms she should run for president and… oh, wait, she did exactly that and lost in a landslide.”
Ms Gabbard has been approached for comment.
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