Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump ’s nominee for director of national intelligence, was repeatedly asked to explain why she sought a pardon for Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who leaked thousands of classified documents revealing the scope of the nation’s surveillance programs.

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.

Critics blasted the meeting as legitimizing Assad four years after he used lethal chemical weapons on Syrian civilians. "It was common knowledge that Assad was gassing the civilian population,