Post Investigation Ties Gabbard's Career to Guru's Memos
The report cites hundreds of memos that appear to show Butler directing Gabbard’s legislation, messaging and social media for years.
- On Sunday, a new Washington Post investigation revealed that Tulsi Gabbard may have been guided by Chris Butler throughout her more than 24-year political career, with nearly 25,000 documents suggesting he controlled her policy positions and legislative proposals.
- Butler founded the Science of Identity Foundation decades ago, a movement some scholars and ex-members describe as a "cult," though the group denies this characterization. Former devotees told investigative journalist Jon Swaine that Butler demanded total obedience and sought to extend his influence into Washington through Gabbard.
- Hundreds of confidential memos obtained by The Post include directives on legislation, policy positions, and television conduct. One memo from January 2015 contained a "derisive assessment" of Gabbard's response to a State of the Union address by President Barack Obama, stating, "In the first place, nobody gives a s--- what you think about his speech, unless you're going to say something of interest."
- Tulsi Gabbard resigned as national intelligence director last Friday, citing her husband's deteriorating health. The investigative report emerged just days after she stepped down from her position in the administration.
- Journalists including The Atlantic's Shane Harris and Anne Applebaum described the investigation as "extraordinary new reporting," with evidence suggesting Gabbard's political rise was the culmination of Butler's decades-long effort to extend his influence into the highest levels of government.
32 Articles
32 Articles
"Washington Post" investigation reveals that Tulsi Gabbard, a former U.S. intelligence chief, recently resigned, has aligned his political stances during his term of office
Leaked Memos Suggest a Reclusive Guru Who Wanted To 'Rule the World' Scripted Tulsi Gabbard for Years
A trove of confidential memos has thrust the question of who really directed Tulsi Gabbard into the open, with a former follower alleging that a secretive Hawaii guru scripted her politics for the best part of a decade. The Washington Post investigation, published on 21 June 2026 by reporter Jon Swaine, draws on hundreds of memos said to detail policy and political guidance for Gabbard during her years in Congress. The newspaper alleges the inst…
Internal documents and statements from dropouts raise questions about the political independence of the outgoing intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard.
WaPo: Gabbard Acted Under Orders Of Cult Leader
The Washington Post reports: Dozens of attached memos appeared to document directives and advice for Gabbard from her time in Congress. Some contained instructions on what legislation she should propose, which policies she should embrace and how she should conduct herself on television. They had an air of authority. A memo about a proposal to partition war-torn Iraq into three states quoted an unnamed person as saying it was “time for TG to come…
Who is Chris Butler, Tulsi Gabbard’s ‘spiritual guru’ who helped shape her decisions as a politician?
A year-long investigation by the Washington Post has uncovered 25,000 documents that uncover Tulsi Gabbard’s close ties to controversial spiritual guru Chris Butler. The probe shows that the leader of Science of Identity Foundation (SIF), which is referred to as a cult by many, exerted pressure on the outgoing Director of National Intelligence by sending mails on what policies she should support when she was in Congress, as well as how she shoul…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
