Tulsi Gabbard: Difference between revisions

On March 9, 2022, Gabbard, in response to a question about "unsecured bio agents, dangerous bio agents in Ukraine", said "I'm extremely concerned…. The seriousness of this situation really can't be overstated. … We have these pathogens in the midst of a war zone [in] between 20 and 30 labs in Ukraine. This is a global crisis."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-09 |title=Tucker Carlson Tonight |url=https://www.fox.com/watch/0449f2058f2b0e7344905170e87d3378/ |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=Fox News}}</ref> On March 13, she reiterated the urgency, stating that these US-funded labs could be compromised by the ongoing conflict and called for "US/Russia/Ukraine/NATO/UN/EU [to] immediately implement a ceasefire … in the vicinity of these labs until they're secured and these pathogens are destroyed."<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=March 13, 2022 |title=Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://x.com/tulsigabbard/status/1502960938147729413?s=12&t=L1LmrtzKyid9sr7KQbcclQ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |website=X.com}}</ref> Later that day, Forbes reported "Tulsi Gabbard shared false information Sunday about U.S. involvement in Ukraine biological laboratories …. [T]here’s no evidence of the U.S. supporting biological labs in Ukraine and the U.S. has consistently denied doing so."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saul |first=Derek |title=Tulsi Gabbard Latest To Push Russian-Backed Conspiracy About U.S.-Backed Biological Labs In Ukraine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/03/13/tulsi-gabbard-latest-to-push-russian-backed-conspiracy-about-us-backed-biological-labs-in-ukraine/ |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, [[Mitt Romney]] tweeted "Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives."<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 13, 2022 |title=Mitt Romney |url=https://x.com/MittRomney/status/1503113473819041796?s=20&t=TVjZjoz23gd3tqwzZoJDIA |access-date=December 9, 2024 |website=X.com}}</ref> Gabbard responded to Romney, asking him to "provide evidence that what I said is untrue and treasonous. …&nbsp;Evidence of the existence of such biolabs, their vulnerability, and thus the need to take immediate action to secure them is beyond dispute",<ref name=":25">{{Cite web |date=March 14, 2022 |title=Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://mobile.twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1503334079667658752 |access-date=March 20, 2022 |website=X.com}}</ref> citing among others, [[U.S. senate|Senate]] testimony by the [[United States Department of State|State Department]]'s [[Victoria Nuland]], a Pentagon Fact sheet,<ref>{{Cite news |title=FACT SHEET: The Department of Defense's Cooperative Threat Reduction Program - Biological Threat Reduction Program Activities in Ukraine |url=https://media.defense.gov/2022/Mar/11/2002954612/-1/-1/0/FACT-SHEET-THE-DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE'S-COOPERATIVE-THREAT-REDUCTION-PROGRAM-BIOLOGICAL-THREAT-REDUCTION-PROGRAM-ACTIVITIES-IN-UKRAINE.PDF}}</ref> the [[U.S. Embassy in Ukraine]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kyiv |first=U. S. Embassy |date=2020-04-22 |title=U.S.-Ukraine Partnership to Reduce Biological Threats |url=https://ua.usembassy.gov/u-s-ukraine-partnership-to-reduce-biological-threats/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=U.S. Embassy in Ukraine |language=en-US}}</ref> and a CNN fact-check.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Sullivan |first=Donie |date=2022-03-10 |title=Analysis: Russia and QAnon have the same false conspiracy theory about Ukraine |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/09/media/biolab-ukraine-russia-qanon-false-conspiracy-theory/index.html |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Gabbard also said, on Carlson's show that day, "They're accusing me of saying that somehow there are bioweapons labs in Ukraine. I've said no such thing at any point. I have said that there are biolabs in Ukraine that have received U.S. support that contained dangerous pathogens."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-15 |title=Tulsi Gabbard responds to Mitt Romney accusation of 'treasonous lies' {{!}} Fox News Video |url=https://www.foxnews.com/video/6300688866001 |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref> Gabbard tweeted that she was not convinced there are biological weapons (aka 'bioweapons') in Ukraine and had never said there were, but she was concerned about existence of biological labs in a warzone.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 14, 2022 |title=Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://x.com/tulsigabbard/status/1503579489531400194?s=21 |access-date=March 20, 2022 |website=X.com}}</ref><ref name=":26">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-14 |title=Tulsi Gabbard responds to Mitt Romney accusation of 'treasonous lies' {{!}} Fox News Video |url=https://www.foxnews.com/video/6300688866001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315020334/https://video.foxnews.com/v/6300688866001#sp=show-clips |archive-date=2022-03-15 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref> (Bioweapons being produced in Ukraine have been debunked as [[disinformation]] by multiple media outlets, scientific groups, and international bodies.{{refn|<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/60711705|title = Ukraine war: Fact-checking Russia's biological weapons claims|work = BBC News|date = 15 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=Edward |date=2022-03-11 |title=U.S. Fights Bioweapons Disinformation Pushed by Russia and China |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/us/politics/russia-ukraine-china-bioweapons.html |access-date=2022-03-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref name="reutersun">{{Cite news |last1=Landay |first1=Jonathan |last2=Pamuk |first2=Humeyra |last3=Lewis |first3=Simon |date=2022-03-11 |title=U.N. says no evidence to back Russian claim of Ukraine biological weapons program |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/un-says-not-aware-any-biological-weapons-program-ukraine-2022-03-11/ |access-date=2022-03-21}}</ref>}})