Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) stated in a Sunday interview that he’ll assist President-elect Trump’s decide for director of nationwide intelligence, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii).
Within the interview on NBC Information’s “Meet the Press,” Lankford attributed his assist for Gabbard to her reversal on FISA Part 702, which supplies the U.S. the authority to conduct warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. residents situated overseas.
“Yes, I am,” Lankford stated, when requested whether or not he’s a “yes” on Gabbard, who constantly voted towards reauthorizing Part 702 when she served within the Home.
“And that was a very important piece for me,” he continued, referring to Gabbard’s reversal final week. “Obviously she voted against 702 authority. And just to clarify that, that authority is for actually trying to be able to track terrorists overseas. That has nothing to do with American citizens or anything that’s happening in the United States.”
Gabbard issued a press release final week, saying, “If confirmed as DNI, I will uphold Americans Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people.”
Lankford stated on NBC he was inspired by the assertion.
“That’s part of the role of the office of national intelligence is to make sure we’re actually watching for people to come attack us and stopping them before they do,” he stated.
Lankford beforehand stated it was necessary that Gabbard make clear her place on Part 702.
In an interview with The Wall Avenue Journal final week, Lankford pointed to Gabbard’s previous opposition to the Overseas Intelligence Surveillance Act authority as an necessary level for Gabbard to deal with throughout her affirmation listening to.
“She’s going to be the spokesman for 702 authority. It’s a legitimate question just to say, ‘OK, how are you going to handle this? What does that mean?’ Because if she comes out and says, “No, I want to oppose all 702 authority,” that actually shuts down all of our nationwide protection gathering,” Lankford stated final week.
“Now I don’t think that that’s what she’s going to say at all, and I’ve had an opportunity to be able to sit down with her, but she’s going to get a fair hearing to be able to put those things out there and to say, ‘This is what I believe about these issues.’ And I think it’s the right thing to do,” he added on the time.
