People say this trip brought attention to Syria's plight, but the war there and the refugees from it have been in the headlines regularly for at least the past 18 months. The links between US proxy forces and al Qaeda affiliates in Syria have received considerable coverage from major outlets almost since the "covert" aid began more than five years ago, so that's not news.  The idea that Assad conveyed anything useful to a very junior member of Congress is ... questionable.

Tulsi's emphasis on the ethics committee approval is ridiculous. The committee didn't and would never approve her tea with Bashar.  Now we see that the foundation she cited, dormant for 10 years, didn't pay for the trip; instead, it was some mystery donors. We don't know who facilitated the Assad meeting. We don't know why a misogynistic president who hates being upstaged hasn't issued so much as a nasty tweet about a woman encroaching on his turf.

It stinks.  

Oh, and way to throw Kucinich under the bus.