When Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka worked as a watchdog for the federal government’s spy community, in charge of rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse, she might have made a few people uncomfortable. She may have made someone lose their job, even.
And so a complaint was filed against her a decade or more ago, when she was doing her job keeping a lid on fraud.
Now, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is trying to use that to destroy Tshibaka’s reputation as a candidate for Senate, even though she is a fellow Republican and whether she or Sen. Lisa Murkowski wins, it will not change the actual Republican makeup of the Senate.
The Senate Leadership Fund super PAC tied to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell started running television and radio ads that accuse Tshibaka of committing fraud while working for the counter-terrorism agency — a serious charge. McConnell is supporting Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who lost the support of the Alaska Republican Party after she voted against the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Tshibaka gave Must Read Alaska a copy of the document she says shows the entire matter of the complaint against her for “false time” reporting was looked at, and closed. There were no credible claims.
After the complaint was found wanting, Tshibaka was promoted from being adviser to the Inspector General of the National Intelligence Service to senior adviser to the Inspector General.
The office of the Director of National Intelligence is a senior-level agency that provides oversight to the Intelligence Community. ODNI is primarily involved with counter-terrorism, counter-intelligence, and other spy work, including protecting elections from foreign interference. Being the watchdog of the intelligence community is not without its work hazards, especially if a spy is found to be acting contrary to protocols.
While the letter from the chief management officer for the Director of National Intelligence is not conclusive without what is likely privilege employment-related backup documentation, the fact that Tshibaka received promotions after the date of this letter provides substantial support for her claim that the allegations were baseless.
