House Republicans have demanded that the Biden-Harris administration release documents related to the recent secret surveillance of former Democrat presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard.
Kamala says she believes in freedom, but I was put on a secret terror watch list after I publicly criticized her. No one will be safe from political retaliation under a Harris administration. I put my life on the line for this country. Now the government calls me a terror threat. pic.twitter.com/3xjgjmrLhD
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) September 4, 2024
Just one day after Gabbard, a former Democrat, warned about the dangers of a Kamala Harris presidency, she was placed on the domestic terrorism watchlist known as the “Quiet Skies” program under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In a previous interview on Fox News, Gabbard called it “political retaliation.”
RETALIATION. A few weeks ago, I had the audacity to tell the truth: that Kamala Harris would essentially be a mouthpiece and puppet of the Military Industrial Complex and National Security State. The next day, July 23, they retaliated. Sadly this is what we can expect from the… pic.twitter.com/nxddO5TGTj
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) August 10, 2024
In a letter to the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) demanded that the agency hand over documents related to the House GOP’s investigation into the surveillance of Gabbard.
Jordan wrote: “On August 21, 2024, the Committee wrote to you requesting information and documents about the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) recent surveillance of former Representative Tulsi Gabbard. To date, you have failed to comply with the Committee’s requests. We write to reiterate our August 21 requests and ask for your voluntary cooperation with our oversight.”
“According to whistleblowers from the Federal Air Marshals, the TSA began to surveil Representative Gabbard through its Quiet Skies Program on July 23, 2024, one day after she criticized the Biden-Harris Administration in a televised interview,” the letter continued.
Jordan cited whistleblower testimony which alleged that there were “abnormalities” in the surveillance of Gabbard and that the DHS’ stated reason for the surveillance “didn’t pass the smell test.”
The letter concluded with a deadline for the TSA to hand over the information and a warning that continued refusal to do so would result in stronger action, with Jordan writing: “We ask that you produce the requested information and schedule the requested briefing immediately, but not later than 10:00 am on September 23, 2024. The Committee is prepared to resort to compulsory process to obtain compliance with our requests for documents and communications.”
The House Judiciary Committee shared the letter in a post on its official X account, arguing in the caption that the TSA’s continued refusal to comply with its request amounts to “stonewalling” the investigation.
Why is the Biden-Harris TSA stonewalling our inquiry into @TulsiGabbard being surveilled by the Quiet Skies Program? pic.twitter.com/5yU6dXRGSO
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) September 9, 2024
Meanwhile, many commentators believe that the surveillance of Gabbard is direct retaliation for her criticism of the Biden-Harris administration, as well as Gabbard’s direct criticism of Harris.
Gabbard recently endorsed former President Donald Trump and vowed to join his transition team if he is reelected. Trump has also reportedly met with Gabbard as part of his preparation for his debate with Harris, a decision that many have attributed to her success in the 2020 Democrat Primary debate against Harris — where Gabbard effectively destroyed Harris’ chances in the race by pointing to her terrible record as a prosecutor, citing her decision to imprison more than 1,500 people for marijuana offenses, to keep an innocent man on death row after obtaining evidence of his innocence, and to keep people in prison past their sentences to use as cheap labor.
NEW: Trump has brought in Tulsi Gabbard to advise him ahead of the debates against Kamala Harris according to the NYT.
The development is likely in response to the time Gabbard absolutely demolished Harris during the CNN debate in 2019.
Trump has "proven to be one of the best… pic.twitter.com/hhimbD1hX4
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 16, 2024
It is clear to many people, likely including Harris, that Gabbard represents a clear danger to her reelection efforts — so maybe the decision to place her on the domestic terrorist watchlist isn’t because of any danger she poses to the country, it is instead because of the danger she poses to the Democrats holding onto power.
