A lengthy investigation by The Washington Post published Sunday reveals the extent to which former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appears to have been under the influence of a breakaway Hare Krishna group called the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) and its eccentric leader, Chris Butler. The story poses troubling implications for national security and vetting in the Trump administration, given Gabbard’s recent role overseeing the nation’s intelligence-gathering efforts.
Investigation Details
Reporter Jon Swaine reviewed more than 25,000 pages of emails, memos, and other messages shared with Gabbard by senior leaders of the group on behalf of Butler. The documents were provided by a former SIF member after a falling-out. Swaine found “unmistakable parallels” between directives from the group and Gabbard’s political decisions, from specific lines she used in national media appearances to legislation she introduced in the House.
Group’s Influence and Response
A 2017 deep dive into Gabbard’s belief system by The New Yorker described a system where Butler demanded absolute fealty, with followers sometimes sprinkling his nail clippings in their food to demonstrate devotion. The group has long been a source of political intrigue, particularly during Gabbard’s 2020 presidential run. Previous reporting by the Honolulu Civil Beat noted that Gabbard’s parents, Carol and Mike Gabbard, held prominent roles in SIF, and her husband, Abraham Williams, has deep roots there as well.
A public relations professional hired by SIF to respond to Swaine’s story characterized it as an attack on Gabbard’s Hindu faith. “Hinduphobia, anti-Hindu religious bigotry, that’s all this is,” a PR statement said. “When a Hindu public figure has a spiritual teacher or shares views with a Hindu religious figure, that alone is somehow evidence of sinister control.”
National Security Implications
Larry Pfeiffer, head of the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security at George Mason University, told the Honolulu Civil Beat after Trump nominated Gabbard: “Your expectation is that a director of national intelligence is going to be this impartial broker of intelligence information to national leadership. And if there’s any question that that individual is under some undue influence by anybody, a religious figure, a corporate figure, a foreign figure, that raises questions about their ability to be impartial.”
