Former Democratic Representative and current Army Reserve Officer Tulsi Gabbard recently announced legal action against the Biden administration after she found out she is on a secretive Transportation Security Administration (TSA) terror watchlist known as Quiet Skies. On Wednesday, Aug. 21, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced he is requesting TSA whistleblowers who leaked the revelations to come forward.
In addition, Jordan is also asking the TSA to release all documents pertaining to Gabbard’s surveillance under its Quiet Skies program.
Jordan wants to know why Gabbard is on a list meant for suspected terrorists and whether she’s being politically targeted by the Biden administration for past criticism.
In a letter to Administrator David Pekoske of the TSA, Jordan, who chairs the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, wrote that the probe is to “ensure the Biden-Harris administration is not weaponizing its federal surveillance powers against its political opponents.”
Jordan cited his committee’s authority to conduct investigations into “matters concerning civil liberties” to justify the request.
Whistleblowers from the TSA previously disclosed Gabbard was surveilled at airports by explosive detection K-9 teams and other federal agents. That came after an interview on Fox News in which she called U.S.-backing of Ukraine in its war against Russia a U.S. “proxy war.”
The TSA has not publicly confirmed nor denied that Gabbard is on the Quiet Skies watchlist. While the agency declined to comment on Gabbard’s recent lawsuit, it did say that Quiet Skies “uses a risk-based approach to apply enhanced security measures on some domestic and outbound international flights.”
