Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday said his planned visit to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s headquarters has been cancelled as a result of interference from far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump.
In a series of posts on social media, Warner explained he was scheduled to visit the Springfield, Virginia, location on Friday to connect with career intelligence professionals who work there, citing the engagement as a “core part of my responsibility to provide oversight and support to our intelligence community.”
The Democratic senator blamed Loomer for orchestrating an effort to get the plan scrapped.
“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 said. “In response to Loomer’s criticism, political appointees canceled the visit, just the latest example of an administration seemingly desperate to please Loomer.”
Warner blasted the decision to pull his appearance as “nakedly political,” while warning that the incident should concern both Republicans and Democrats alike.
