Tulsi Gabbard is trying to explain her past support for Edward Snowden, including her push to pardon the national security leaker, to a tough crowd: members of the Senate Intelligence Committee considering her confirmation.

When she was still in the House, Gabbard introduced a resolution calling for all charges to be dropped against Snowden. And she urged President-elect Trump at the end of his first term to pardon people who “exposed the deception and criminality of those in the deep state,” in commenting on another post specifically mentioning Snowden.

That is not the type of rhetoric you hear on Snowden from members of Congress’s two intelligence committees.

“I don't think Edward Snowden is a patriot by any means. He's a traitor to his own nation,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Gabbard appears to have made headway in recent days, including by shifting her position on a warrantless surveillance program that allows spying on noncitizens when they are abroad – a controversial measure as it can sweep up communications with Americans in the process.

In private meetings with lawmakers, she’s similarly sought to assure them by saying she didn’t feel Snowden had a good route to share his concerns – an explanation eliciting mixed reactions from lawmakers.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) office wouldn’t comment on Gabbard’s position on Snowden, who he has said should “rot in jail.”

Snowden fled to Russia after leaking thousands of National Security Agency documents showing the bulk collection of Americans’ communications data – a move exacerbating criticism from intelligence leaders who saw his leaks as inexcusable.

“Her concern was that there was no way for........

© The Hill