A Republican senator who was the subject of a threatening tweet by a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Agency (NSA) announced that he had reported the individual to U.S. Capitol Police, according to a press release issued on Tuesday.
Retired U.S. Air Force General Michael V. Hayden, who served as director of the NSA from 1999 to 2005 and director of the CIA from 2006 to 2009, wrote in a tweet on Monday that Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama should be “[removed] from the human race.” After Hayden doubled down on his remark following criticism of his tweet, Tuberville’s office issued a press release expressing outrage at the comment and stating that he had reported Hayden to the United States Capitol Police, a federal law enforcement agency charged with protecting members of Congress.
“If we still have a nonpolitical justice system in this country, then General Hayden will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Tuberville wrote in the press release. “My office has reported this incident to the Capitol Police and I expect that they will once again do an excellent job protecting members of Congress and bringing criminals to justice.”
Federal law, specifically 18 U.S.C. § 115, makes threatening to assault, kidnap or murder a member of Congress a felony if done so with intent to impede or intimidate them while performing official duties. The offense carries a punishment of imprisonment of up to ten years as well as a fine.
“Given General Hayden’s long career in Washington, he must have known that, by making such a statement, he was committing a serious crime. His own efforts today to reinterpret what he said are only a tacit admission of guilt,” Tuberville said.
Tuberville’s press release also attacked Hayden’s record as director of the NSA and CIA. “General Hayden presided over some of the biggest failures in the history of American intelligence, such as the September 11 attacks and the lack of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq,” he said.
Tuberville has been strongly criticized by Democrats for his denial of unanimous consent to confirm military nominees to general and flag officer roles, in protest against a Department of Defense policy that reimburses military members for travel to obtain an abortion in states where it is legal.
Tuberville also referred to Hayden’s fierce criticism of former President Donald Trump and Republican politicians as well as his advocacy on behalf of Democratic candidates to suggest that he was a partisan actor. “General Hayden actively participated in the Russia Hoax and lied about Hunter Biden’s laptop to get Joe Biden elected President,” he wrote, referring to his signing of a letter in 2020 that argued that a story by the New York Post about a laptop owned by Hunter Biden, which included damning personal information, was “Russian disinformation.”
“[T]hese lies tore our country apart and did enormous damage to the fabric of our republic. General Hayden is in no position to criticize anyone as his credibility was completely destroyed long ago,” Tuberville said.
Hayden, the CIA and the U.S. Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Arjun Singh on October 10, 2023
