Does Tulsi Gabbard Have Russian Ties? Kremlin Sympathizer’s DNI Appointment Raises Alarm

Tulsi Gabbard was sworn in as the US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Wednesday by a partisan US Congress vote of 52-48.

As the DNI, Gabbard is set to oversee the activities of all US intelligence agencies, including the CIA and FBI. She’ll attend the Munich Security Conference between Feb. 14 and Feb. 16 to meet her European counterparts during her first trip as DNI, deputy DNI for strategy and communications Alexa Henning told ABC News.

Gabbard’s appointment has been controversial and raised alarm in the intelligence community due to her pro-Russian narratives.

‘Comrade’ Tulsi Gabbard

While there is no concrete proof that Gabbard is a Russian agent, her parroting of Russian propaganda and support from Russian media has led to her being called a “Kremlin favorite” by critics.

Notably, her statements include those that blamed the US and NATO for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, echoing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call for Ukraine to become a “neutral” state – against the longstanding US policies on Ukraine.

“Dear Presidents Putin, Zelensky, and Biden. It’s time to put geopolitics aside and embrace the spirit of aloha, respect and love, for the Ukrainian people by coming to an agreement that Ukraine will be a neutral country,” Gabbard said in a X video on Feb. 27, three days after Russia had begun its 2022 invasion.

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Gabbard also justified Russia’s 2022 invasion when it started, claiming that Russia’s “legitimate security concerns” should be respected even though Russia invaded Ukraine, not vice versa.

“This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns regarding Ukraine’s becoming a member of NATO, which would mean US/NATO forces right on Russia’s border,” Gabbard said in another X update.

For context, Russia’s ultimatum for the US before the full-scale invasion also included the withdrawal of NATO troops from formerly communist member states, a condition that could never be fulfilled.

In one instance, her warm attitude toward the Kremlin has led to commentators calling her a “comrade” on Russian state television Rossiya-1, according to Russian opposition outlet Agentsvo.

Support for her from Russian media also led to security concerns that she dismissed as a “smear campaign” against her in 2019.

Meeting Syria’s Assad

Gabbard met face-to-face with Syria’s ousted leader and Moscow-ally Bashar al-Assad in 2017, prompting backlash from fellow lawmakers.

“I think we should be ready to meet with anyone if there’s a chance it can help bring about an end to this war, which is causing the Syrian people so much suffering,” Gabbard said at the time, according to AP News.

Assad was accused of committing war crimes in Syria, whose forces – backed by Russia since 2015 – were fighting against US-backed factions in Syria. Assad was ousted by a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024.

During her visit, Gabbard met local girls injured by aerial bombing, to which she doubted their accounts by questioning Assad’s forces’ complicity, a question that an accompanying translator described as “ludicrous.”

“Her response was, ‘How do you know it was Assad and Russia and not ISIS?’” the translator Mouaz Mustafa recalled of the exchange, according to AP News.

“Ludicrous question: ISIS doesn’t have airplanes.”