Democrats and Republicans in Congress worried that Gabbard might leak to Assad regime
When Tulsi Gabbard arrived in Congress, she was seen as a rising Democratic star. But over time, her views on Russia and Syria shocked, puzzled and alarmed her colleagues.
In the spring of 2018, congressional staffers were anxious ahead of a House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting.
A Syrian defector who had risked his life to expose atrocities committed by the Assad regime was due to appear behind closed doors at a private briefing for lawmakers.
No cameras would be present, but congressional aides worried about one committee member, Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who had repeatedly defended the Syrian regime and even met its leader, Bashar al-Assad, in an unannounced trip in 2017.
The aides were concerned Gabbard might leak information about the defector, who had hidden his identity out of fear of reprisals from the Assad regime. Some worried that she might even reveal his identity to someone associated with the Syrian government, which at that point had killed hundreds of thousands of its own citizens, according to human rights groups.
Both Democratic and Republican aides told the Syrians accompanying the defector, known as “Caesar,” to ensure that he covered his face before Gabbard entered the room — just in case.
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