Does a genuine transcript show what Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said after Representative Jim Himes asked a question about retweeting "posts from individuals affiliated with Russian state media" using her personal account? No, that's not true: The fake transcript starts off with things that were actually said but then adds more questions from a "reporter" who wasn't actually present during the interaction. Actual video of the conversation does not show a reporter calling Gabbard "an Instagram influencer" who is "elevating Kremlin propaganda" and "pushing Russian propaganda".
The fake transcript appeared in a post on X (archived here) that was published on March 26, 2025 and it read:
Rest of conversation -
HIMES: Do you think it's responsible for you, as head of the intelligence community, to retweet posts from individuals affiliated with Russian state media?
GABBARD: That retweet came from my personal account.
REPORTER: Personal account? You're the Director of National Intelligence, not an Instagram influencer. There's no such thing as "personal" when you're elevating Kremlin propaganda.
GABBARD: I have the right to share information--
REPORTER: Information? You mean Russian disinformation. You sit in high-level intelligence briefings, then turn around and boost the same narratives Moscow is pushing. Should we just CC the Kremlin on your next meeting and cut out the middleman?
GABBARD: This is just an attempt to smear me--
REPORTER: Smear you? You lied under oath in a Senate hearing yesterday, claiming you knew nothing about classified information, while sitting in Signal chats where war plans were discussed. You retweet Kremlin-backed sources, then act shocked when people question your loyalties.
GABBARD: I'm focused on national security--
REPORTER: National security? While pushing Russian propaganda and pretending you're clueless about intelligence leaks? If a Democrat had done half of this, you'd be screaming treason on national TV.
GABBARD: This is about free speech--
REPORTER: Free speech? You're the President's top intelligence advisor, not some random guy on Twitter. Every word you amplify has consequences. And right now, you're handing America's enemies exactly what they want--straight from your "personal account."
It came in reply to a video clip (archived here) that showed Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) questioning DNI Tulsi Gabbard that was posted to X:
Himes: Do you think that it's responsible for you as head of the intelligence community and the principles presidential intelligence advisor to retweet posts from individuals affiliated with Russian state media?
-- Acyn (@Acyn) March 26, 2025
Gabbard: That retweet came from my personal account pic.twitter.com/yAUPqiAmWj
A full version of the interaction can be seen here (archived here):
The automatically generated transcript from YouTube shows what was actually said:
Himes: Director Gabbard do you think that it's responsible for you as head of the intelligence community and the principal's presidential uh intelligence adviser to retweet posts from individuals affiliated with uh Russian state media?
Gabbard: That retweet came from my personal account and I would have to go back to look at the substance uh of the tweet.
Himes: Can I just a lack... just so that we don't have a lack of confusion amongst our allies and enemies and us, can I act perhaps that you not think that you should be saying one thing on your personal account than you say officially.
Gabbard: Uh I maintain my first amendment rights to be able to express my own personal views on different issues
Himes: Thank you. I yield back Mr. Chairman.
(Transcript cleaned up by Lead Stories to identify speakers and add punctuation)
