Donald Trump’s Cabinet pick Tulsi Gabbard won’t answer whether Assad is a war criminal after cozy 2017 meeting

Donald Trump’s choice to be director of national intelligence sidestepped questions about Syria’s recently overthrown dictator Bashar Al-Assad, whom she met in 2017.

Gabbard declined to answer whether she believed Assad — who has ordered chemical weapons used against his own Syrian people — is a war criminal, Fox News first reported.

The investigation came just a day after Assad reportedly fled his native Syria for Moscow after rebels took control of the Middle Eastern country he has ruled since 2000.

Gabbard infamously met with Assad during a “fact-finding” mission to the country seven years ago, a trip that caused consternation and sparked much controversy.

Syria is a country with which the US does not have formal diplomatic relations, and US forces have aligned themselves with rebel groups in the country’s civil war.

Assad instead chose to work with Russia, which has been conducting military operations across the country for years.

With his appointment as Trump’s top intelligence official, Gabbard’s cozy relationship with Assad now comes under heightened scrutiny, especially given the ex-dictator’s prominence in the news lately.

And given that Assad is now being hosted by one of the US’s top geopolitical rivals, the senators charged with confirming Gabbard to DNI have many questions about her trip.

Gabbard sparked controversy when she met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad amid the brutal civil war there in 2017

Gabbard met Assad during what she called a “fact-finding mission” to Syria

“Many of her past statements deserve investigation,” Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told DailyMail.com.

“I think she was one of the first topics of conversation in Damascus and the Kremlin.”

“You can sincerely believe that brutal dictators should remain in power, but I think we should ask why she took the positions she did at a time when very few other people believed that Bashar Al-Assad or Vladimir Putin deserved defense.’

Murphy added that he has no doubt there are better people for the job, although he did not say whether he was opposed to voting for her.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware had an even harsher assessment.

“No one should mourn the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad, a murderous dictator who, only with the help of Russia and Iran, was able to suppress an uprising of his own citizens by massacring them,” he told DailyMail.com

“The DNI is a very crucial role,” he continued, adding that it is important to “ensure that anyone filling that role is a person of good character, with the relevant experience.”

Looking ahead to his own conversation with Gabbard, although a meeting is not currently on the books, Coons said he will ask the former Democrat about her visit to Syria.

Gabbard’s previous trip to meet Assad has already influenced the way senators feel about her candidacy for DNI

Trump had Gabbard accompany him to several campaign events this year before tapping her to become his director of national intelligence

Tulsi Gabbard said in a 2019 interview that she has ‘no’ regrets about speaking to Syrian dictator Bash al-Assad

“I will ask her why she thought it was wise to visit Bashar Al-Assad, [and] what the consequences are for her views on foreign policy and security.’

In repeated interviews since her trip to Syria, Gabbard continued her journey to see that the destruction caused by the civil war between Assad’s forces and rebels and ISIS terrorists was the right thing to do.

“It remains very important for every leader in this country to be willing to meet others, whether friends, adversaries or potential adversaries, if we are serious about pursuing peace and securing our country,” she said in a speech. 2019 interview about her conversation with Assad.

Republicans, who will hold the majority next Congress and will be tasked with pushing Trump’s DNI pick through the Senate in January, were less concerned about Gabbard’s earlier meeting with the former dictator.

Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma responded to reporters’ questions about Gabbard, saying 2017 was a different time.

“What happened in 2017 is completely different from what happened today,” he said.

And he was quick to point out, “The information we got from the Obama administration in 2017.”

The Republican noted that the attacks on the Syrian people were carried out by Assad’s forces and that the perspective was different at the time, with leading sources at the time mainly blaming Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah for many Syrian atrocities.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina noted after meeting with Gabbard the differences the two have had in the past.

“We’ve had policy differences,” he said. “But you know what, she will serve Trump.”

Although he did admit during the sit-down that he liked her.

When Senator John Cornyn was asked about Gabbard’s relationship with Assad, he simply replied: “I look forward to meeting her.”