Murphy: Trump administration knew Gabbard ‘wasn't going to toe the line' at Iran briefing

The Hill

a day ago

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday suggested Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was disinvited from a Capitol Hill briefing on the U.S. strikes in Iran because she has not been in lock step with President Trump's assessment of Iran's nuclear capabilities.
'I've never, ever been part of a major cabinet level classified briefing where the Director of National Intelligence was banned from the room,' Murphy said in an appearance on CNN's 'The Source.'
'I think it stands to reason that they knew that she was not going to toe the line, that she was likely going to refuse to say what the administration wants, which is that the program was obliterated,' the Connecticut Democrat told host Kaitlan Collins.
Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was referring to the classified briefing senators received from CIA Director Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the strikes.
Trump notably broke with Gabbard at the onset of the conflict between Israel and Iran, after the national intelligence chief testified in March that the Iranian regime did not appear to be building a nuclear weapon. Asked about that testimony, Trump shot back: 'I don't care what she said. I think they were very close to having one.'
Since launching strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran last Saturday, competing reports have emerged on how significant the damage is.
The president and Israeli officials have contended the attacks 'obliterated' the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan enrichment sites and its nuclear program will likely face years of setback. CNN and The New York Times, however, reported that an early U.S. intelligence assessment shows the damage only delaying Tehran's nuclear efforts by a few months.
The administration has pushed back strenuously on the reporting, including Hegseth during Thursday's early Pentagon press briefing. The FBI and White House are investigating what they've called a 'leak' of information — and have moved to pair back sharing of classified intelligence, even with members of Congress.
A personal lawyer for Trump has also threatened to sue the Times and CNN for their reporting about the preliminary intelligence report.
Gabbard has since leaned into Trump's analysis of the damage in recent days, agreeing that the sites had been 'destroyed.'
On CNN, Murphy warned that the U.S. strikes was likely counterintuitive to the administration's mission of ending Iran's nuclear program.
'It's true that Israel has targeted a lot of the scientists, but Iran still has the know-how to put back together a nuclear program,' he said, referring to the initial attack on Tehran by the Israeli military on June 13, which killed several of Iran's top leaders and led to over a week of counterstrikes.
'And the strikes potentially could have the impact of convincing this regime in Tehran or the next regime that they now have no choice but to rush to a nuclear weapon,' the senator added.