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Tulsi Gabbard Denies New Report Of Trump’s Role In Her Syria Trip

The congresswoman had previously met with Trump to discuss Syria policy and the Assad regime.
04/03/2017 Updated April 3, 2017
WASHINGTON - Rep. Tulsi Gabbard [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/tulsi-gabbard ] (D-Hawaii) did not communicate an offer for dialogue from President Donald Trump [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/donald-trump ] to Syrian strongman Bashar Assad during her trip to Syria [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tulsi-gabbard-met-with-assad_us_58891f5ce4b0737fd5cb6d29 ] in January, she told The Huffington Post on Monday.
Gabbard’s controversial visit with Assad has gained renewed attention after the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar [ http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/275193 ], which is considered close to the Syrian leader, ran a story allegedly featuring details of the meeting.
The report quoted Gabbard as telling Assad, “This is a question to you coming from President Trump which he asked me to convey to you. So let me repeat the question: If President Trump contacted you, would you answer the call?” according to a translation [

A quick translation of the encounter between @TulsiGabbard and Bashar al-Assad in the @AlakhbarNews story today: https://t.co/YvAYlKMw30 pic.twitter.com/aUyqStG9Z6

— Elias Muhanna (@QifaNabki) April 3, 2017

] by Brown University professor Elias Muhanna.
Asked by HuffPost if the Al-Akhbar report was accurate, Gabbard emailed, “No.”
Emily Latimer, a spokeswoman for Gabbard, elaborated later in an email.
“The exchange described in this story never happened,” Latimer wrote. “There was no message or question from Trump because as the congresswoman has previously stated, the Trump Administration was not aware or involved in her trip in any way, and she did not relay any communications from the Trump administration. The claims in this article suggesting otherwise are false.”
Gabbard met with Trump soon after his election, becoming the first congressional Democrat to do so. Like Trump, she has rejected intervention abroad, advocated slowing down [ http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/local-news/gabbard-supports-gop-bill-syrian-refugees ] the process of accepting refugees and accepted the term “Islamic extremism.” 
Some in Trump’s movement, like White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon [ http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/307106-bannon-set-up-trump-gabbard-meeting ], believe that successfully courting Gabbard is a way to unite their faction of the Republican Party with more left-wing Democrats. Gabbard was a loud supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, and she is among a group of frustrated Democrats who believe the party establishment is wrong on trade, foreign affairs and other issues.
In Gabbard’s view, the conflict in Syria and the rise of groups like the self-described Islamic State are products of U.S. regime change efforts rather than organic resistance to Assad’s repressive rule and Assad’s own policies [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bashar-assad-paris-attacks_us_56474d97e4b0603773493ee4 ]. She has supported Russia’s intervention [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/russias-propaganda-about-fighting-terror-just-suffered-a-big-blow_us_57364919e4b077d4d6f32cbd ] to shore up Assad and has opposed congressional criticism of his regime. 
“If Assad is removed and overthrown, ISIS, al Qaeda, al Nusra [now Jabhat Fateh al Sham], these Islamic extremist groups will walk straight in and take over all of Syria ... they will be even stronger,” Gabbard told CNN [ http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/20/politics/tulsi-gabbard-syria-paris-keep-assad/ ] in 2015.
Trump has made similar arguments, saying [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-assad-iran-and-russia-are-the-only-partners-i-see-in-syria_us_57fb0087e4b0e655eab57d13 ] he sees Assad, Russia and Iran as viable partners for the U.S. in the fight against ISIS. The Syrian regime has praised [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/assad-support-trump-muslim-ban_us_589db093e4b03df370d56906 ] Trump and indicated that it is open to cooperation.
After news of her trip to Syria broke, Gabbard faced heavy criticism [ https://www.facebook.com/RepKinzinger/videos/vb.187811174579106/1618908081469401 ] and questions about who funded her visit. The Atlantic revealed [ https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/01/the-organization-that-sent-tulsi-gabbard-to-syria/514763/ ] that two Ohio businessmen allegedly close to Assad and a pro-Assad, anti-Semitic party in Syria funded the trip. Gabbard eventually said [ http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/01/politics/tulsi-gabbard-syria/ ] she would pay for the visit out of her own pocket.
[...]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tulsi-gabbard-denies-trump-syria_us_58e28430e4b0f4a923b0beab [with embedded video]

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