A whistleblower tells the Gurdian that National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard blocked the publication of an intelligence report concerning an “unusual phone call between an individual associated with foreign intelligence and a person close to Donald Trump.”
The details of the communication are not known, but the Wall Street Journal reported it could cause “grave damage to national security" if it becomes public, according to an official. The information also "implicates another federal agency" and reportedly includes "claims of executive privilege that may involve the White House."
Last spring, the National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted the highly sensitive communication, but when the info reached Gabbard, she ducked the standard procedure of allowing NSA officials to distribute the information further and instead delivered a paper copy of the intelligence directly to the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, according to attorney Andrew Bakaj.
“One day after meeting Wiles, Gabbard told the NSA not to publish the intelligence report. Instead, she instructed NSA officials to transmit the highly classified details directly to her office,” reports the Guardian. “Details of this exchange between Gabbard and the NSA were shared directly with the Guardian and have not been previously reported. Nor has Wiles receipt of the intelligence report.”
On April 17, a whistleblower contacted the office of the inspector general alleging that Gabbard had blocked highly classified intelligence from routine dispatch, according to Bakaj, who added that the whistleblower filed a formal complaint about Gabbard’s actions on May 21.
The Guardian said the intelligence report was been “kept under lock and key” for eight months, even after the whistleblower pressed to disclose details of the report to congressional intelligence committees.
“Acting inspector general Tamara A Johnson dismissed the complaint at the end of a 14-day review period, writing in a June 6 letter addressed to the whistleblower that ‘the Inspector General could not determine if the allegations appear credible,’” reports the Guardian. Johnson added also informed the whistleblower that they could only approach Congress after receiving DNI guidance on how to proceed due to the highly sensitive nature of the complaint.
After nearly a year, Gabbard’s office issued its first public acknowledgment of the complaint to lawmakers on Tuesday, the day after the Wall Street Journal broke the news of the classified brief.
“Two attorneys and two former intelligence professionals who reviewed details of the incident and ensuing complaint shared with the Guardian have identified what they believe are a series of procedural anomalies that raise questions about Gabbard’s handling of national intelligence and the whistleblower disclosure,” the Guardian reports.
Two Republican lawmakers have dismissed the report and remain loyal to Gabbard, but Democrats are raising alarms.
“The law is clear: when a whistleblower makes a complaint and wants to get it before Congress the agency has 21 days to relay it,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) who is on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “This whistleblower complaint was issued in May. We didn’t receive it until February.”
Warner said the months-long delay reflected an effort to “bury the complaint.”
