White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 5, 2026. REUTERS/Al Drago
President Donald Trump's administration has once again changed the reason Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard was on site for the FBI's raid at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center in Georgia last month. The story has now changed five times, and three times in the past 24 hours.
CBS News reported Thursday that Gabbard's spokesperson clarified the message after Trump told the National Prayer Breakfast that Attorney General Pam Bondi tasked Gabbard with going to Georgia. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also argued Trump put election security under the DNI's purview.
"As the president said, he asked for Director Gabbard to be there," Gabbard spokesperson Alexa Henning wrote on X. "Attorney General Bondi also asked for her to be there. Two things can be true at the same time."
As of publication, the president has not said he ordered it.
Trump told "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Llamas about his conspiracy theory that he had not losts the 2020 election. Llamas asked Trump point-blank, “Why is Tulsi Gabbard there?”
“I don’t know,” Trump answered. “But a lot of the cheating comes from, it’s international cheating.”
Gabbard was the one who claimed Trump ordered.
In a letter to Democratic lawmakers Monday, Gabbard said her presence "was requested by the president."
Less than 24 hours after Trump's interview, the story changed again.
While he was speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump gushed over Gabbard for attending the raid.
“She took a lot of heat two days ago because she went in at Pam’s insistence,” the president said, referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“They say, ‘why is she doing it’… because Pam wanted her to do it. And you know why? Because she’s smart," Trump added.
The story has changed radically in the past week. The first to comment on Gabbard was Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who told reporters that Gabbard just happened to be in Atlanta when the raid unfolded.