FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida: Republican senators pushed back on Sunday against criticism from Democrats that Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead US intelligence services, is “compromised” by her comments supportive of Russia and secret meetings, as a congresswoman, with Syria’s president, a close ally of the Kremlin and Iran.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and veteran of combat missions in Iraq, said she had concerns about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s choice to be director of national intelligence.
“I think she’s compromised,” Duckworth said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” citing Gabbard’s 2017 trip to Syria, where she held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard was a Democratic House member from Hawaii at the time.
“The US intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America’s foes. And so my worry is that she couldn’t pass a background check,” Duckworth said.
Gabbard, who said last month she is joining the Republican Party, has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades. She was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait and, according to the Hawaii National Guard, received a Combat Medical Badge in 2005 for “participation in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.”
Duckworth’s comments drew immediate backlash from Republicans.
“For her to say ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, said on CNN, challenging Duckworth to retract her words. “That’s the most dangerous thing she could say — is that a United States lieutenant colonel in the United States Army is compromised and is an asset of Russia.”
In recent days, other Democrats have accused Gabbard without evidence of being a “Russian asset.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has claimed, without offering details, that Gabbard is in Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s pocket.”
Mullin and others say the criticism from Democrats is rooted in the fact that Gabbard left their party and has become a Trump ally. Democrats say they worry that Gabbard’s selection as national intelligence chief endangers ties with allies and gives Russia a win.
Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat just elected to the Senate, said he would not describe Gabbard as a Russian asset, but said she had “very questionable judgment.”
“The problem is if our foreign allies don’t trust the head of our intelligence agencies, they’ll stop sharing information with us,” Schiff said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Gabbard in 2022 endorsed one of Russia’s justifications for invading Ukraine: the existence of dozens of US-funded biolabs working on some of the world’s nastiest pathogens. The labs are part of an international effort to control outbreaks and stop bioweapons, but Moscow claimed Ukraine was using them to create deadly bioweapons. Gabbard said she just voiced concerns about protecting the labs.
Gabbard also has suggested that Russia had legitimate security concerns in deciding to invade Ukraine, given its desire to join NATO.
Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri said he thought it was “totally ridiculous” that Gabbard was being cast as a Russian asset for having different political views.
“It’s insulting. It’s a slur, quite frankly. There’s no evidence that she’s a asset of another country,” he said on NBC.
Sen. James Lankford, another Oklahoma Republican, acknowledged having “lots of questions” for Gabbard as the Senate considers her nomination to lead the intelligence services. Lankford said on NBC that he wants to ask Gabbard about her meeting with Assad and some of her past comments about Russia.
“We want to know what the purpose was and what the direction for that was. As a member of Congress, we want to get a chance to talk about past comments that she’s made and get them into full context,” Lankford said.
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Republicans push back against Democrats’ claims that Trump intelligence pick Gabbard is compromised
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Republicans push back against Democrats’ claims that Trump intelligence pick Gabbard is compromised
- Democrats have cast doubts on Gabbard for her comments supportive of Russia and secret meetings, as a congresswoman, with Syria’s president, a close ally of the Kremlin and Iran
- Gabbard, a former US ational Guard officer and a former Democrat, also has suggested that Russia had legitimate security concerns in deciding to invade Ukraine, given its desire to join NATO
Filipino typhoon survivors sue Shell over climate change
LONDON: Survivors of a deadly 2021 typhoon in the Philippines have filed a lawsuit against British oil giant Shell, seeking financial compensation for climate-related devastation, three NGOs supporting them said Thursday.
Typhoon Rai struck the southern and central regions of the Philippines in December 2021, toppling power lines and trees and unleashing deadly floods that killed over 400 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
The lawsuit on behalf of 103 survivors argues Shell’s carbon emissions contributed to climate change, impacting Philippine communities.
Trixy Elle, a plaintiff from a fishing community whose home and four boats were swept away in the typhoon, told AFP the lawsuit was about getting justice.
“Island residents like us contribute only a small percentage of pollution. But who gets the short stick? The poor like us,” said the 34-year-old, who is still paying off high-interest loans she needed to rebuild.
“I am not speaking only for my community but for all Filipinos who experience the effects of climate crises,” Elle said, adding that her now 13-year-old son still suffers from trauma caused by the storm.
In a joint statement, the NGOs backing the suit said it represents “a decisive step to hold oil giant Shell accountable for the deaths, injuries and destruction left by the climate-fueled storm.”
While typhoons are a regular weather pattern in Southeast Asia, scientists have long warned that climate change is making storms more intense because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and warmer seas can turbocharge the systems.
In Manila on Thursday, Greenpeace climate campaigner Virginia Benosa-Llorin called the lawsuit a “test case to hold the corporations accountable.”
The suit will be the “first time claimants in the Global South are bringing action related to significant personal injury and property damage... caused through the alleged acts of common measures in the Global North,” added UK-based lawyer Joe Snape via videolink.
- Lost ‘everything’ -
Plaintiff Rickcel Inting, a fisherman, told AFP his family had lost “everything in an instant” when Typhoon Rai slammed into Bohol province, surviving only because they lashed themselves to a thick column on their rooftop.
“Shell caused what we have suffered because of its actions, causing pollution and harming the environment... they owe poor individuals like us,” said the 46-year-old, adding he had never been able to afford to replace his lost fishing boats.
The lawsuit marks the latest step in a wider international movement to assign responsibility to major companies for climate damage.
A German court in May ruled that firms could, in principle, be held responsible for harm caused by their emissions, fueling hopes that other countries would follow suit.
Shell dismissed the lawsuit as “a baseless claim,” with a spokesperson saying “it will not help tackle climate change or reduce emissions.”
“The suggestion that Shell had unique knowledge about climate change is simply not true,” the firm added.
- Oil profits -
The claimants are seeking financial compensation for “lives lost, injuries sustained and homes destroyed,” NGOs supporting the lawsuit said.
Shell, along with many rival energy giants, has scaled back various climate objectives to focus more on oil and gas in order to raise profits.
The United Nations in 2022 said destruction caused by Typhoon Rai was “badly underestimated” in initial assessments, tripling the number of people “seriously affected” to nine million.
The Philippines — ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impact of climate change — is hit by an average of 20 storms every year.
The UK lawsuit follows a historic climate ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in July, which declared states had an obligation under international law to address the threat of climate change.
ICJ advisory opinions are not legally enforceable but are seen as highly authoritative in steering national courts, legislation and corporate behavior around the globe.
Typhoon Rai struck the southern and central regions of the Philippines in December 2021, toppling power lines and trees and unleashing deadly floods that killed over 400 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
The lawsuit on behalf of 103 survivors argues Shell’s carbon emissions contributed to climate change, impacting Philippine communities.
Trixy Elle, a plaintiff from a fishing community whose home and four boats were swept away in the typhoon, told AFP the lawsuit was about getting justice.
“Island residents like us contribute only a small percentage of pollution. But who gets the short stick? The poor like us,” said the 34-year-old, who is still paying off high-interest loans she needed to rebuild.
“I am not speaking only for my community but for all Filipinos who experience the effects of climate crises,” Elle said, adding that her now 13-year-old son still suffers from trauma caused by the storm.
In a joint statement, the NGOs backing the suit said it represents “a decisive step to hold oil giant Shell accountable for the deaths, injuries and destruction left by the climate-fueled storm.”
While typhoons are a regular weather pattern in Southeast Asia, scientists have long warned that climate change is making storms more intense because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and warmer seas can turbocharge the systems.
In Manila on Thursday, Greenpeace climate campaigner Virginia Benosa-Llorin called the lawsuit a “test case to hold the corporations accountable.”
The suit will be the “first time claimants in the Global South are bringing action related to significant personal injury and property damage... caused through the alleged acts of common measures in the Global North,” added UK-based lawyer Joe Snape via videolink.
- Lost ‘everything’ -
Plaintiff Rickcel Inting, a fisherman, told AFP his family had lost “everything in an instant” when Typhoon Rai slammed into Bohol province, surviving only because they lashed themselves to a thick column on their rooftop.
“Shell caused what we have suffered because of its actions, causing pollution and harming the environment... they owe poor individuals like us,” said the 46-year-old, adding he had never been able to afford to replace his lost fishing boats.
The lawsuit marks the latest step in a wider international movement to assign responsibility to major companies for climate damage.
A German court in May ruled that firms could, in principle, be held responsible for harm caused by their emissions, fueling hopes that other countries would follow suit.
Shell dismissed the lawsuit as “a baseless claim,” with a spokesperson saying “it will not help tackle climate change or reduce emissions.”
“The suggestion that Shell had unique knowledge about climate change is simply not true,” the firm added.
- Oil profits -
The claimants are seeking financial compensation for “lives lost, injuries sustained and homes destroyed,” NGOs supporting the lawsuit said.
Shell, along with many rival energy giants, has scaled back various climate objectives to focus more on oil and gas in order to raise profits.
The United Nations in 2022 said destruction caused by Typhoon Rai was “badly underestimated” in initial assessments, tripling the number of people “seriously affected” to nine million.
The Philippines — ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impact of climate change — is hit by an average of 20 storms every year.
The UK lawsuit follows a historic climate ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague in July, which declared states had an obligation under international law to address the threat of climate change.
ICJ advisory opinions are not legally enforceable but are seen as highly authoritative in steering national courts, legislation and corporate behavior around the globe.
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