DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard slammed claims that she is puppet of President Donald Trump or Russia's Vladimir Putin in her opening remarks before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Is Tulsi Gabbard in a cult? A woman who was previously part of a fringe organization wrote letters to elected officials claiming Tulsi was as well.

Tulsi Gabbard appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday to prove she deserves the title of director of national intelligence.

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for national intelligence director, dismissed claims she is a puppet for global leaders. She accused Democratic senators of religious bigotry against Hindus during her confirmation hearing.

Tulsi Gabbard’s father, Mike Gabbard, also pivoted from anti-gay activism to a career in local politics in Hawaii. He mounted a House bid in 2004 and fielded questions about his extensive ties to Butler and the group’s past attempts to back candidates. Mike Gabbard described himself as a “Catholic” who was “eternally thankful to Chris Butler.”

In 2012, Tulsi Gabbard was seen as the future of the Democratic party. She gave a headline speech at the convention nominating Barack Obama for his second term. Pelosi praised her. Vogue deemed her the next “Democratic Party star.”

Former Democrat and military veteran Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence was grilled about her past remarks supporting government whistleblower Edward Snowden as well as her relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syria's former dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Most Democrats and even some Republicans seemed uneasy with Tulsi Gabbard and her answers to their questions during her confirmation hearing with the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Any one of those resume bullet points might be enough to sink her precariously perched nomination, but in her confirmation hearing today it was Edward Snowden that dominated the discussion. Judging from the line of questioning from senators in both parties,

Former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard was in the hot seat, before the U.S. Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence.

Gabbard was questioned by Republicans and Democrats alike on her views of Snowden and whether she believes he was a traitor. She declined to say she believed he was a traitor, repeating that she felt he had broken the law and reiterating a point that she has made in the past, that he exposed practices that have resulted in the reform of 702.