AP Photo/Chris Szagola
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) claimed on Tuesday night that conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer managed to convince Trump administration officials to cancel a meeting he had with intelligence personnel.
Warner is the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and was scheduled to meet with officials on Friday at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Springfield, Virginia. His office released a statement late Tuesday night that said:
Weeks ago, I arranged an on-site meeting this coming Friday at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Springfield, Va., to connect with the nonpartisan career intelligence professionals who serve our country every day. These are Virginians – my constituents – and I have held more than a dozen similar private listening sessions with NGA and other intelligence agencies in Virginia under both Democratic and Republican presidents, including during President Trump’s first term. Engagements such as these are a core part of my responsibility to provide oversight and support to our intelligence community and hear from Americans who live in Virginia, and they have never been questioned or politicized, until now.
Over the weekend, conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer discovered the unpublicized, classified visit and launched a campaign of baseless attacks against both me and NGA Director Vice Admiral Trey Whitworth for hosting what has always been considered a routine oversight meeting. In response to Loomer’s criticism, political appointees canceled the visit, just the latest example of an administration seemingly desperate to please Loomer, a figure with a long history of extreme and outlandish fringe views, including 9/11 denialism, anti-Muslim harassment campaigns, and associations with white supremacists.
This nakedly political decision undermines the dedicated, nonpartisan staff at NGA and threatens the principle of civilian oversight that protects our national security. Members of Congress routinely conduct meetings and on-site engagements with federal employees in their states and districts; blocking and setting arbitrary conditions on these sessions sets a dangerous precedent, calling into question whether oversight is now allowed only when it pleases the far-right fringe. This should concern Republicans as well as Democrats: if routine oversight can be obstructed for political reasons, no member of Congress is immune.
Let me be clear: I will never be deterred from carrying out my constitutional responsibilities. The business of government and the security of our nation will not be dictated by extremist attention-seekers. I will continue to hold the government accountable and meet with the career intelligence professionals who keep our country safe.
On Sunday, Loomer re-posted a video of Warner advocating for the due process rights of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an undocumented immigrant whom the Trump administration is threatening to deport to Uganda. In March, the administration deported him and more than 200 others to El Salvador. The administration brought Abrego Garcia back after a judge ruled he had been deported unlawfully.
“2 days ago, Senator Mark Warner @MarkWarner made this video advocating for illegal alien MS13 gang banger Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is facing deportation,” Loomer tweeted. “Why is Trey Whitworth, the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) hosting Russia Hoaxer Senator Mark Warner @MarkWarner for a fireside chat at NGA on Sept. 5, from 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET, in the Allder Auditorium at NGA in Washington DC?”
In another post, Loomer slammed Warner for calling for the firing of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.