Gabbard’s office warns attorney against sharing classified complaint with Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief counsel for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard warned an attorney for an unnamed government employee Monday against sharing information directly. Top secret complaint about Gabbard’s behavior Collection of classified materials with members of Congress.
Letter to lawyer Andrew Bakaj is latest development in back-and-forth tension accusations based on confidential complaintHe claims Gabbard withheld top-secret material for political reasons.
Two inspectors general for the intelligence agency reviewed the allegation and found that certain allegations did not appear credible. Gabbard denied any wrongdoing and said she did everything she could to ensure the report reached Congress.
Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees criticized Gabbard’s office for its handling of the complaint, questioning why it took eight months to be sent to elected members of Congress, as required by law.
Here’s what you need to know about the complaint and next steps:
What is known about the complaint
The anonymous author of the complaint works for a U.S. intelligence agency and filed a report in May alleging that Gabbard withheld classified information for political reasons. Gabbard oversees the coordination of 18 intelligence agencies.
There were two allegations in the complaint A notification was sent to MPs by current inspector general Christopher Fox: First, that “distribution of a top-secret intelligence report was restricted for political purposes,” and second, accuses Gabbard’s general counsel of failing to report a potential crime to the Justice Department.
In the memo he sent to lawmakers, Fox said that in June, then-inspector general Tamara Johnson found that Gabbard’s claim that she distributed classified information along political lines did not seem credible. Fox wrote that Johnson “failed to evaluate the apparent credibility” of the accusation against his general counsel.
The watchdog said he did not think the complaint was urgent, meaning it would never be forwarded to MPs.
“If the same or similar matter came before me today, I would likely rule that the allegations do not meet the legal definition of ‘urgent concern,’” Fox wrote.
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets reported that the complaint stemmed from a conversation between two foreign nationals that mentioned someone close to President Donald Trump and was intercepted by the National Security Agency. While the news citing anonymous sources stated that the discussion was about Iran and that Gabbard personally informed the White House, the complaint stated that Gabbard was accused of preventing the NSA from reporting this interaction to other institutions. The AP could not immediately confirm the reports.
The NSA declined to provide details about the complaint, saying in a statement Monday that it was working closely with the FBI and others to investigate misuse or disclosure of classified information.
Gabbard’s office warns lawyer
Bakaj, a former CIA officer and attorney for the complainant, offered to meet with some lawmakers or their staff to discuss the allegations and their concerns about Gabbard’s review.
The ODNI’s general counsel warned against this in a letter Monday, saying Bakaj or his client could face criminal charges if they improperly disclose classified material during the briefing.
“The highly confidential nature of the underlying complaint increases the risk that you or your client may unintentionally or otherwise violate the law by disclosing or misusing confidential information,” the general counsel wrote. “There may be other ways to appear before Congress, but this is not it.”
Bakaj did not immediately respond to questions about the letter Monday.
Under federal law, intelligence whistleblowers have the right to ask to take their complaints directly to key lawmakers, as long as they consider the allegations urgent, even if the inspector general finds them unreliable. This decision was made by the original observer, but the complaint did not reach MPs until last week.
Copies of the top-secret complaint were hand-delivered starting last week to the “Gang of Eight,” a group consisting of House and Senate leaders from both parties as well as four senior lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees.
Additional meetings for remaining members are tentatively set for Wednesday.
GOP backs Gabbard, Democrats condemn delay
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he would press Gabbard for more answers about the underlying complaint and why it took so long for the report to be delivered to lawmakers.
He said the number of redactions made it difficult to evaluate the claims.
“The fact that this has been out there for six, seven, eight months and we’re only seeing it now is cause for great concern in itself,” Warner said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Republicans who lead the intelligence committees support Gabbard, making it less likely the panels will take further action to investigate the complaint.
“It appeared to be an effort by the president’s critics to undermine him,” Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote in X on Saturday.
Intelligence chief responds to criticism
In a lengthy social media post on Saturday, Gabbard noted that Johnson was appointed interim inspector general for the intelligence agency during President Joe Biden’s administration.
He included a detailed timeline showing that he acted quickly to ensure the complaint reached Congress. Gabbard wrote that she became aware of the complaint in June and believed it ended after the investigation was deemed not credible, but not after the inspector general’s office notified her in December that the complaint should be reviewed, redacted and sent to members of Congress.
“I took immediate action to provide security guidance to the Intelligence Community Inspector General, who shared the complaint last week and shared the intelligence with relevant members of Congress,” Gabbard wrote.
He also accused Warner and the media of trying to use the complaint to tarnish his name.
