U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan is conducting a new formal investigation, this time through the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, seeking information on allegations that the Biden administration took measures against former lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard after she criticized it.
Concretely, Jordan gave the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), David Pekoske a hard deadline to submit documentation showing whether Gabbard is being, surveilled through its "Quiet Skies" program.
Jordan said in the letter that the program "allows Federal Air Marshals to secretly surveil air travelers 'who are not under investigation by any agency and are not in the government's terrorist screening database.'" He went on to detail that the program has been "criticized for its ineffectiveness and failure to protect civil liberties" and detailed a series of cases to back his claim.
Now, the lawmaker said, whistleblowers within the program allege that it is being "weaponized" against Gabbard as a result of criticism uttered in a televised interview in later July.
"The very next day, TSA allegedly placed her under Quiet Skies surveillance," and on "eight flights since, 'two Explosive Detection Canine Teams, one Transportation Security Specialist (explosives), one plainclothes TSA Supervisor, and three Federal Air Marshals' have surveilled Representative Gabbard," the letter claims.
According to the whistleblowers quoted by Jordan, the surveillance was filled with "abnormalities," with one Air Marshal calling a hotline because he didn't understand the reason for his task. "It didn't pass the smell test," one of them said.
In this context, Jordan is asking the TSA head "all documents and communications between and among TSA or other executive branch agencies or officials referring to surveillance of former Representative Tulsi Gabbard or other federal elected or appointed officials for the period January 20, 2021 to the present." The hard deadline is September 4 at 5 p.m.
Gabbard has been echoing criticism against the alleged practice. On August 10, she issued a message herself, saying on X: "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 "Harris" Administration."
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
