Dan Goldman: Laura Loomer ‘Effectively Making Decisions’ About Who Oversees Our Most Sensitive Collection Agency Is ‘Far More Important than Section 702’

Goldman: “The other thing that I want to bring up with our friends here is the threat to national security. We’re talking a lot about that in this hearing, and obviously 702 is designed to protect our national security. As many of you know, I’m sure, last week, I believe it was, the NSA Director, General Timothy Haugh, widely, widely respected, a career national security official, overseeing the NSA, which is principally responsible for using Section 702 materials and gathering Section 702 materials. He was fired. Do you know why he was fired, Mr. Hamadanchy?”
HAMADANCHY: “The reporting is that there were certain people who committed to the president, specifically Laura Loomer, that he should be fired.”
Goldman: “Laura Loomer.”
HAMADANCHY: “Yes.”
Goldman: “Laura Loomer went in and had a meeting with the president and urged that General Haugh should be fired because he was handpicked by General Mark Milley, who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2023, when Haugh was nominated to lead both the Cyber Command and the NSA. Now this is the same Laura Loomer who says 9/11 was an inside job, who has openly advocated at a white nationalist conference that she is a white advocate, who said during the campaign that if Kamala Harris, who is half Indian, won that the, quote, ‘the White House would smell like curry and White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center,’ who has said that numerous mass shootings are all hoaxes and conspiracies, who calls herself a proud Islamophobe and perpetuated the completely bogus conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants in Ohio, and yet she is given access to the president of the United States to make a national security recommendation that, coincidentally or not, the next day happened. How does this affect our national security, Mr. Hamadanchy, when a conspiracy theorist who is denounced by numerous Republicans is effectively making decisions about who oversees our most sensitive collection agency?”
HAMADANCHY: “So I think the first question is whether or not the NSA Director refused to follow any illegal orders. The reporting does not indicate that. The second question is — is have there been any policy changes at the NSA since President Trump took office? That’s something that this committee should look at. And the third question is, who is the president going to replace the NSA Director with if that person is unqualified, if that person has the potential to abuse the authority of the NSA? And that’s something that Congress should weigh in on if that’s the case.”
Goldman: “And I agree with you. Mr. Chairman, I will —“
CHAIRMAN: “Gentleman’s time has expired.”
Goldman: “— I will — if I can have just one second.”
CHAIRMAN: “No, you can’t.”
Goldman: “I agree. I hope you do look —“ [crosstalk]
CHAIRMAN: “Your time has expired.”
Goldman: “Because that’s far more important than section 702 right at this minute.”
CHAIRMAN: “Thank you, Mr. Goldman.”