Tulsi Gabbard responds to Mitt Romney's accusation of 'treasonous lies'
Gabbard told Carlson, 'The truth is the first casualty of war'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard responded to Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, calling her commentary on biolabs in Ukraine as "treasonous lies" on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Monday.
"While Senator Romney and all these different talking heads in the mainstream media are regurgitating Hillary Clinton's slanderous talking points, the facts remain," Gabbard told host Tucker Carlson.
Sen. Romney speaks to reporters as he walks through the Senate Subway on February 16, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Tulsi Gabbard tweeted a video Monday in which she expressed concern that biolabs could be "compromised" during the Russian assault of Ukraine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES
She said, "There are 25-30 U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine. According to the U.S. government, these biolabs are conducting research on dangerous pathogens. Ukraine is in an active war zone with widespread bombing, artillery, and shelling. And these facilities, even in the best of circumstances could easily be compromised and release these deadly pathogens … Instead of trying to cover this up, the Biden-Harris administration needs to work with Russia, Ukraine, NATO, the UN to immediately implement a ceasefire for all military action in the vicinity of these labs until they're secured and the pathogens destroyed."
Mitt Romney responded to Gabbard's video, saying, "Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Romeny and former Congresswoman Gabbard (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images| Ethan Miller/Getty Images )
Gabbard quipped back on Twitter, calling for Romney to resign from the Senate if he couldn't back up his accusations against her.
"Romney, please provide evidence that what I said is untrue and treasonous. If you cannot, you should do the honorable thing: apologize and resign from the Senate," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Jennifer Griffin reported that the labs were from the Soviet era, saying "Those are Soviet-era biolabs that the U.S. has engaged in since 2005 in trying to help Ukraine convert the facilities safely."
The Pentagon released a statement saying that Russia had been spreading disinformation about the U.S. developing biological weapons and slandering its Biological Threat Reduction Program.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The Russian accusations are absurd. They're laughable. And you know, in the words of my Irish Catholic grandfather, a bunch of malarkey. There's nothing to it. It's classic Russian propaganda. And, and I wouldn't, if I were you, I wouldn't give it a drop of ink worth paying attention to," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said to a reporter.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby holds a news briefing at the Pentagon on March 9, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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Gabbard told Carlson, "I think it's important to point out here that this is not a matter of disagreement or holding a dissenting view. This is about facts and this is about the truth … [The media are] accusing me of saying that somehow there are bioweapons labs in Ukraine. I've said no such thing at any point. I have said that there are biolabs in Ukraine that have received U.S. support that contain dangerous pathogens that if those labs are breached, then we in the world are facing a potential future of pandemics that this is a dangerous crisis that needs to be addressed immediately."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gabbard went on to blast the media for trying to cast doubt on the existence of labs.
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"They deny, even though there is a plethora of evidence that exists, they deny that these biolabs are even there, which is shocking to me," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So the media is lying," she added. "I think it's important to recognize that facts exist, especially in this case. And the truth is the first casualty of war. And so this is exactly what we are seeing here [is] people [who] have a very specific agenda [and are] refusing to recognize the truth, refusing to have a conversation and instead immediately resorting to their age-old tactic of silence, smear and destroy the character and reputation of anyone who dares to say anything that they don't like."