A Washington Post investigation published Sunday found that Tulsi Gabbard’s congressional career appears to have been extensively guided by the leader of a religious organization she grew up in, with documents showing the group directing her legislation, scripting her television talking points, and dictating her tweets during her years in the House.
The investigation, by journalist Jon Swaine, draws on more than 25,000 pages of documents spanning 2011 to 2017, obtained from Rebecca Saltzburg, a former member of the Science of Identity Foundation who worked on digital strategy for several of Gabbard’s congressional campaigns. Saltzburg said she shared the material because she felt Gabbard had misled voters about the extent of the group’s influence on her decision-making.
The documents center on Chris Butler, the Hawaii-based leader of SIF, a movement that broke away from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in the 1970s and teaches a form of Hinduism centered on devotion to Krishna. Gabbard grew up in the organization — her parents held senior positions — and has previously referred to Butler as her guru.
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Former members have described the group as a cult, saying disciples were cut off from the wider world and required to obey Butler without question; SIF has denied those characterizations.
The documents contain specific and verifiable examples of the relationship. Someone within the group directed Gabbard to use an exact phrase during a CNN interview; she used it verbatim. A 2014 email pushed her to “get it started in the morning” on legislation penalizing nations whose citizens had joined ISIS; within 24 hours, she issued a public statement, and within a week, she introduced the bill in the House.
On at least one occasion, a Butler aide sent Gabbard a pre-written tweet; she published it without alteration. SIF members operated fake social media accounts to boost and defend Gabbard online, and the documents suggest she was aware of the operation.
The documents also show Butler being openly critical of Gabbard — calling her “mealymouthed” over one bill and telling her, at one point, that no one cared what she thought. A March 2015 exchange within the group weighed whether Gabbard should tell the public she was one of Butler’s disciples.
As recently as 2019, Gabbard denied it directly when asked whether Butler served as her political mentor. “No, no, not at all,” she said.
Butler’s associate Sunil Khemaney has claimed he — not Butler — wrote the directives in the documents. The Post said its analysis of 173 pages of material found biographical details and first-person references that aligned more closely with Butler. Butler and SIF declined to comment for the investigation.
Gabbard served as Director of National Intelligence until her resignation last week — a role giving her oversight of the entire US intelligence apparatus. Butler has previously described US intelligence and defense agencies as institutions run by “madmen.” Two days after the Post told Gabbard it was going ahead with the story, her resignation was made public.
Gabbard’s spokesperson called the allegations “a blatant example of anti-Hindu bigotry.” The Post said Gabbard’s chief of staff was the only person to respond to its repeated requests for comment.
