Tulsi Gabbard fought back against what she called “smears,” declaring she is nobody’s “puppet” before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump's nominee to serve as the director of national intelligence, will testify Thursday morning at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The 43-year-old former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and combat veteran would oversee the nation's 18 spy agencies.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump's nominee to serve as the director of national intelligence, testifies Thursday morning at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The 43-year-old former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and combat veteran would oversee the nation's 18 spy agencies.

Trump’s nominee for director of intelligence said, under oath, that she was not aware “until today” that a prominent cleric she met in Syria threatened to unleash suicide bombers in the United States.

Aspiring spy boss Tulsi Gabbard defended most of her controversial foreign policy takes during a lively Senate hearing Thursday, including her meeting with former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and her prior doubts about the legitimacy of US intelligence on his use of chemical weapons against his own people.

Analysis: Democrats grandstanded, but it might be the questioning of two Republican hawks that sinks Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence, Eric Garcia reports

DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard provided additional details on her meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017, while appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Dozens of former intelligence officials are urging U.S. senators to confirm former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as the new Director

Facing more than a dozen questions about her views on NSA leaker Edward Snowden, Tulsi Gabbard held her ground at her Senate confirmation hearing.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, faced tough questioning in her Senate confirmation hearing.

It’s Gabbard’s comments, however, that have posed the biggest challenge to her confirmation. Gabbard has repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda used to justify the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a corrupt autocrat.