Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, defended herself on Saturday amid Democratic concerns regarding the nearly year-long delay in bringing a whistleblower complaint to Congress last May.
In a lengthy post on X, Gabbard refuted claims from Virginia Democrat Senator Mark Warner and other critics, stating they falsely asserted that she and her office had “hidden” the whistleblower complaint in a safe for eight months. “That’s simply not true,” she wrote.
She clarified, “I have never had any control over the complaint, so I couldn’t have hidden it away. It was the Biden-era Inspector General, Tamara Johnson, who was responsible for it.”
The confidential complaint, alleging misconduct on Gabbard’s part, was submitted to the intelligence community’s Office of Oversight eight months prior and was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The outlet noted that the complaint had been stored in a secure location and cited a U.S. official warning that releasing it could threaten national security.
The attorney for the whistleblower accused Gabbard’s team of delaying the complaint process, a claim her office dismissed as “politically motivated nonsense.”
During this time, Democrats have raised questions about the slow referral of the complaint to Congress.
Warner pointed out that the law mandates these complaints be sent to Congress within 21 days of filing, suggesting the delay aimed to sideline the allegations.
Specific details of the complaint and the allegations against Gabbard remain undisclosed.
Gabbard explained that she only became aware of the complaint when she needed to review it for guidance on its safe handling in Congress.
“As someone who has been a Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Warner knows that sensitive whistleblower reports containing classified material must be kept secure, even if the allegations are unverified. Inspector General Johnson knew this during her tenure, and so does the current Inspector General, Chris Fox,” she added. She mentioned that the complaint was returned to a safe after being shared with the “Gang of Eight.”
Gabbard remarked that either Warner was deliberately misleading the public or was simply uninformed about the protocol, questioning his suitability for the Senate.
She further noted, “There’s no deadline for providing security guidance if the complaint isn’t credible. The ’21-day’ rule Warner mentioned only applies when the Inspector General deems the complaint both urgent and credible, which was not the case here.”
Representatives from the inspector general’s office have evaluated some of the claims against Gabbard as not credible but have not made a complete determination.
Gabbard indicated she received instructions for security guidance related to the charges on December 4, which she communicated to Congress.
She asserted that she took prompt action, ensuring the complaint was referred to relevant congressional members shortly thereafter.
In closing her post, Gabbard accused Warner of spreading “lies for political gain,” claiming such actions jeopardize national security and mislead the public.
Warner’s office responded, labeling her comments as a damaging and inaccurate attack against someone who has shown she is unqualified for her role as DNI.
Support for Gabbard has come from Republican members of both House and Senate intelligence committees. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) indicated he had assessed the complaint and backed the conclusions of the inspector generals, asserting it lacked credibility.
He expressed concern that the situation was part of a larger effort by critics of the administration to undermine disfavored policies, dismissing the allegations as not credible.
Gabbard’s office did not provide an immediate response to requests for comment.
