Donald Trump‘s spy chief Tulsi Gabbard is accused of wrongdoing in a whistleblower complaint so highly classified it has been sealed inside a safe.
The sensitive allegations against Gabbard have triggered months of debate over how to present the whistleblower’s complaint to Congress, amid warnings it could cause ‘grave damage to national security,’ according to the Wall Street Journal.
Officials familiar with the matter say the ‘cloak and-dagger mystery’ revolving around the complaint raises potential claims executive privately that may involve the White House.
The whistleblower’s lawyer accused Gabbard of stonewalling the complaint by refusing to provide the necessary security guidance for congressional lawmakers to review it.
The intelligence community’s inspector general received the complaint last May, according to a November letter sent by the whistleblower’s lawyer addressed to Gabbard.
A spokesperson for Gabbard acknowledged the existence of the complaint but claimed it was ‘baseless and politically motivated.’
Gabbard’s office also said it was not stonewalling the whistleblower’s allegations but rather navigating a unique set of circumstances in order to resolve the classified complaint.
A representative for the inspector general told the Wall Street Journal that it had determined some specific allegations were not credible. The whistleblower’s lawyer, Andrew Bakaj, said they were never informed that any determinations were reached.
Allegations against Tulsi Gabbard have triggered months of debate over how to present the whistleblower complaint to Congress, amid warnings it could cause ‘grave damage to national security’
Gabbard has recently been sidelined in the Trump administration over major national-security matters, including Venezuela and Iran.
Gabbard’ office also said it was not stonewalling the whistleblower’s allegations but rather navigating a unique set of circumstances in order to resolve the classified complaint.
The November letter Bakaj wrote to Gabbard was shared with House and Senate intelligence panels. However, lawmakers have not received the complaint months later.
Democratic congressional aides on the intelligence committees have tried to probe for details of the whistleblower’s complaints in recent weeks but have not been successful.
The information divulged by the whistleblower is so highly classified that not even Bakaj has been able to view it.
Watchdog experts and former intelligence officials claim the delay in sending the complaint to Congress is unprecedented.
The inspector general is usually required to assess whether the complaint is credible to share with lawmakers within three weeks of receiving it.
The Daily Mail cannot confirm the substance of the allegations.
‘This is a classic case of a politically motivated individual weaponizing their position in the Intelligence Community, submitting a baseless complaint and then burying it in highly classified information to create 1) false intrigue, 2) a manufactured narrative, and 3) conditions which make it substantially more difficult to produce ‘security guidance’ for transmittal to Congress,’ said DNI spokeswoman Olivia Coleman in response to the WSJ’s report.
Gabbard, who became famous for her non-interventionist foreign policy views, has recently been sidelined in the Trump administration over major national security matters, including Venezuela and Iran.
Instead, Gabbard has been tasked with verifying Trump’s claims of election fraud stemming from the 2020 election.
