Though well ensconced at home in Russia, accused leaker and U.S. defector Edward Snowden nonetheless took center stage at former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearing for Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Thursday,

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick to be Director of National Intelligence, refused to call Edward Snowden a traitor at her confirmation hearing.

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.

When one lawmaker asked if she believed Mr. Snowden was a traitor, Ms. Gabbard simply said that she was ‘focused on the future.’

Gabbard's previous comments about Snowden, responsible for one of the most damaging leaks of sensitive U.S. intelligence, were the focal point of her hearing.

In 2020, then-Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard introduced legislation calling on the federal government to drop all charges against Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor who in 2013 revealed the existence of the bulk collection of American phone records by the NSA before fleeing to Russia.

Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, grilled Tulsi Gabbard on her previous remarks praising Edward Snowden.

Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence — faces skepticism over past comments from Democrats and Republicans