The Washington Post revealed on June 21 that hundreds of confidential memos obtained by the outlet document detailed guidance for Tulsi Gabbard’s political career, raising questions about the influence of Chris Butler, a reclusive religious leader she once described as her guru.
Post reporter Jon Swaine obtained more than 25,000 pages of documents, including hundreds of memos spanning 2011 to 2017, most from Gabbard’s first two congressional terms. The memos contained directives on legislation she should propose, policies she should embrace, and how she should conduct herself on television.
The memos were sent from email addresses on the Nine Isles domain, which Swaine identified as reserved for the office of Chris Butler, 78, founder of the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF), a Hawaii-based religious group that former members have described as a cult. Butler’s followers practice a form of Hinduism centered on devotion to Krishna.
Swaine traced the documents to Rebecca Saltzburg, a former SIF member who had worked on Gabbard’s congressional campaigns. Saltzburg told the reporter that Butler did not use a computer, instead delivering advice verbally to secretaries who transcribed his remarks into memos. She said the unnamed speaker in the memos was Butler, and that the anonymity was intentional to mask his identity if the documents became public.
In comparing the memos to Gabbard’s public record, Swaine found striking parallels. A 2014 memo pressed Gabbard to propose legislation penalizing countries whose citizens had fought for the Islamic State. The next day, Gabbard released a statement on the issue, and a week later, she introduced a bill. In another instance, a memo labeled “CNN Wolf Blitzer Talking points (Final)” contained a specific phrase about being “disinvited” to a debate. Swaine found that Gabbard used nearly identical language in her CNN appearance that day.
Swaine analyzed 32 television interviews between 2014 and 2016. On 24 occasions, Gabbard used language from the talking-points memos almost verbatim. In the eight other instances, she promoted the same ideas using different words.
The memos also reflected harsh criticism of Gabbard’s performances. One memo from January 2015 called a statement she was to give “intellectually lazy.” Another criticized her for appearing “chickenshit” and “mealymouthed.” A memo documented concern about her eye movements during media appearances, with an unnamed speaker saying, “She’s still doing the eye thing.”
When asked in 2019 by a Washington Post colleague whether Butler had mentored her politically, Gabbard answered emphatically: “No, no, not at all.” She did not respond to Swaine’s detailed questions about the memos.
Sunil Khemaney, identified as Butler’s “right-hand man” and an adviser to Gabbard, claimed in an email to Swaine that he, not Butler, was behind most of the memos. Khemaney said some may have come from Butler regarding Hindu teachings, but asserted there was “no evidence” the body of work could be attributed to Butler. When asked to specify which man wrote which memos, Khemaney did not respond to follow-up inquiries.
Swaine used stylometric analysis—a statistical method examining word choice and patterns—to compare the memos against Butler’s 7,000-page archive of lectures, as well as writings by Mike Gabbard (Tulsi’s father) and Khemaney. The analysis suggested the memos came from a single speaker who was much more likely to be Butler than the other two men. Nonstandard words like “duplistic” (instead of “duplicitous”) and “judgmentalism” appeared in both the memos and Butler’s lectures.
The investigation also uncovered evidence of a coordinated social media campaign. Documents showed that dozens of fake accounts were used to defend and boost Gabbard online during her congressional years. Some accounts displayed false names and biographies, with avatar photographs copied from elsewhere online. Saltzburg told Swaine she had a prominent role in the project and later regretted it, though she said at the time she believed the effort served a higher purpose.
Gabbard served as Director of National Intelligence from February 2025 until her resignation in May 2026. She announced her departure citing her husband’s diagnosis with a rare bone cancer. Her chief of staff characterized the Post’s reporting as “allegations tied to a failed $250,000 extortion attempt by a disgruntled former volunteer” and described the attacks on Gabbard’s faith as “a blatant example of anti-Hindu bigotry.”
SIF’s president, Jeannie Bishop, declined to answer Swaine’s specific questions, saying they contained “embedded premises and characterizations” the foundation did not accept. A public relations representative speaking on SIF’s behalf called the reporting “Hinduphobia” and “anti-Hindu religious bigotry,” arguing that a Hindu public figure having a spiritual teacher is not inherently evidence of “sinister control.”
Sources
- The Washington Post — Swaine’s investigation obtaining hundreds of confidential memos, documenting their content, tracing their origin to Butler and the Nine Isles email domain, and analyzing Gabbard’s public record against the guidance.
- NDTV — Reporting on the 25,000 pages of documents and the memos’ directives on policy, legislation, and media appearances.
- Mediaite — Coverage of the investigation’s impact and Gabbard’s previous role as DNI.
- Politico — Confirmation of Gabbard’s resignation as DNI in May 2026 and her stated reason.
- MSN — Summary of the investigation’s key claims regarding SIF members’ alleged influence on Gabbard’s political positions.
