Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today sent a second letter to Vice President Kamala Harris to express his concern about her National Security Advisor, Philip Gordon, and his connections to senior Department of Defense official Ariane Tabatabai. Ms. Tabatabai was reportedly involved in an Iranian government operation to expand Iran’s influence in the United States.
In part, Senator Cotton wrote:
Ariane Tabatabai - Flickr Image
“In social media posts since my last letter, Mr. Gordon continues to demonstrate a pattern of anti-Israel bias, which furthers Iranian interests. If he’s willing to ridicule Israel so unfairly in public, I can only imagine what he is telling you in private. I understand that it may be difficult to discern Iranian agents from the left-wing ideologies on your staff. But you have the responsibility to make these difficult distinctions and appropriately vet the people you elevate to positions of distinction and trust.”
Full text of the letter may be found here and below.
August 15, 2024
Vice President Kamala D. Harris
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Vice President Harris,
On July 31, I sent you a letter regarding your National Security Advisor Philip Gordon’s connections to alleged Iranian spy, Ariane Tabatabai. Yet, you failed to respond by my deadline or to appropriately address this threat to national security emanating from your staff.
The presence of such an obvious security risk in your inner circle should have elicited your utmost attention. It raises the question of whether you’ve been aware of Mr. Gordon’s possible links to the Iranian regime and simply find your policies aligned enough with Tehran’s interests that ties to that regime don’t concern you.
In social media posts since our last letter, Mr. Gordon continues to demonstrate a pattern of anti- Israel bias, which furthers Iranian interests. If he’s willing to ridicule Israel so unfairly in public, we can only imagine what he is telling you in private.
I understand that it may be difficult to discern Iranian agents from the left-wing ideologues on your staff. But you have the responsibility to make these difficult distinctions and appropriately vet the people you elevate to positions of distinction and trust.
I expect you to immediately investigate Mr. Gordon’s ties to the Iranian regime and provide responses to my initial July 31 letter.
Thank you for your belated attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Tom Cotton
United States Senator