(The Center Square) – Facing uncertain fates in the Senate after tough confirmation hearings, the two nominees for top intelligence positions in the U.S. have both condemned government overreach and biased intelligence investigations.
Yet Kash Patel, nominee for FBI director, and Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for national intelligence director, disagree on whether agencies should be able to punish unlawful whistleblowing or secretly spy on American citizens.
During his Thursday confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patel promised to protect whistleblowers from retaliation and ensure that no taxpayer money is used to hunt down whistleblowers.
“Having been the victim of government overreach and a weaponized system of justice and law enforcement, I know what it feels like to feel the full weight of the United States government barreling down on you,” Patel said. “Those activities were wholly improper and not predicated on law. I will ensure that no American is subjected to that kind of torment and that kind of cost, financially and personally.”
Patel worked in intelligence under the first Trump administration, during which time the FBI secretly subpoenaed his records when he began investigating the false allegations that Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russians.
But Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and former Democratic representative from Hawaii, made no such promises, instead promising to promote legal whistleblowing channels and...
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