WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Mark Warner said he was blocked from holding an intelligence oversight meeting after interference by far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Warner, the Democratic vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was scheduled to meet this Friday with staff at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Springfield, Virginia.
"Over the weekend, conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer discovered the unpublicized, classified visit and launched a campaign of baseless
attacks against both me and NGA Director Vice Admiral Trey Whitworth for hosting what has always been considered a routine oversight meeting," Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said in a statement on Tuesday night.
"In response to Loomer’s criticism, political appointees canceled the visit, just the latest example of an administration seemingly desperate to please Loomer, a figure with a long history of extreme and outlandish fringe views, including 9/11 denialism, anti-Muslim harassment campaigns, and associations with white supremacists, " Warner said.
Warner said he has held more than a dozen listening sessions with nonpartisan career intelligence professionals from various agencies who are his constituents in Virginia, which is also home to the Central Intelligence Agency.
Loomer took credit for the meeting's cancellation in several posts on Twitter, saying Warner was "LOOMERED."
"Following my expose of Biden appointed NGA Director Trey Whitworth, who was Mark Milley’s handpicked Director for NGA @NGA_GEOINT, Whitworth’s scheduled September 5th fireside love fest with anti-Trump Democrat Senator @MarkWarner Mark Warner has been CANCELED!" she wrote.
Loomer, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, has maneuvered her way from online agitator from his MAGA base to self-appointed presidential adviser.
With 1.7 million followers on Twitter and a weekly program that draws thousands of views, Loomer has weighed in on everything from the new pope to Trump's pick for surgeon general. She has claimed to be responsible for the firings of National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and other aides.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Warner's statement.
Warner said he would continue holding meetings with intelligence professionals but did not elaborate.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu;)
