Vice President Kamala Harris is evading a congressional investigation into the disturbing connections between her national security adviser and an Iranian influence network. The Washington Free Beacon revealed that Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Representative Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) initiated an inquiry into Phil Gordon, Harris’s national security adviser, due to his concerning association with Pentagon official Ariane Tabatabai. Tabatabai was exposed last year as part of an Iranian-run influence network with direct ties to Tehran’s foreign ministry, as reported by the The Washington Free Beacon.

Despite a clear August 9 deadline, Harris has failed to provide the requested information about Gordon’s connections with Tabatabai and other pro-Tehran advocacy groups. Cotton criticized Harris for her non-response, highlighting the national security risk Gordon poses due to his apparent links to the Iranian regime. The Senator’s letter bluntly questioned whether Harris has been aware of these ties and is simply indifferent due to her policies aligning with Tehran’s interests.

Gordon is a key foreign policy adviser to Harris and is expected to play a significant role in national security should Harris ascend to the presidency. Several of Harris’s campaign advisers, including Ilan Goldenberg, also advocate for increased diplomacy with Iran, which raises additional red flags about the direction of her foreign policy.

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Harris has not shied away from clashing with Israel either, as evidenced by her March call for an Israeli ceasefire during a conflict with Hamas, criticizing the Jewish state for what she termed a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. Cotton’s letter emphasized Harris’s responsibility to thoroughly vet her advisers, particularly those with potential ties to foreign regimes hostile to the United States.

The concerns stem from Gordon’s co-authorship of multiple articles with Tabatabai that openly supported the Iranian regime’s perspectives. These articles were published after Tabatabai was linked to the Iran Experts Initiative, a network involved in pushing Tehran’s interests within U.S. policy circles. This network has ties to the Biden administration’s former Iran envoy, Robert Malley, who was suspended under suspicion of leaking classified information.

Gordon’s defense of the Iranian regime’s position is further troubling given that Tabatabai visited the Biden-Harris White House on at least eight occasions after her connections to the influence network were revealed. Records show these visits included meetings organized by the White House Presidential Personnel Office, responsible for vetting government nominees.

Adding to the controversy, Gordon met with pro-Tehran analyst Ali Vaez at the White House in February. Vaez, like Tabatabai, has reported ties to the Iranian influence operation.

In his latest letter, Cotton urged Harris to “immediately investigate Mr. Gordon’s ties to the Iranian regime” and to respond to the concerns raised in his previous communication. Cotton further pointed out Gordon’s ongoing bias against Israel, which only serves Tehran’s interests. An example of this bias was Gordon’s August 10 tweet, where he criticized Israel for civilian casualties in Gaza, accusing the Jewish state of targeting “innocent Palestinians.”

In response, a Biden-Harris administration official dismissed Cotton’s concerns as “baseless and absurd,” defending Gordon’s career as a respected national security expert. The official claimed Gordon has consistently opposed Iran’s malign activities and supported Israel’s security. Despite these reassurances, the troubling connections between Harris’s adviser and a hostile foreign regime remain unanswered.