Tulsi Gabbard Accused of Stonewalling Classified Whistleblower Complaint That Accuses Her of Wrongdoing

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

A classified whistleblower complaint alleging wrongdoing by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has sat unresolved inside the intelligence bureaucracy for eight months, leaving Congress aware of its existence but unable to see it amid accusations the spy chief is stonewalling the process.

The complaint, filed last May with the intelligence community’s inspector general, is so sensitive that even the whistleblower’s own lawyer has not been permitted to view it.

Officials familiar told the Wall Street Journal that its contents are locked in a safe and warned that disclosure could cause “grave damage to national security.” The allegations reportedly implicate not only Gabbard’s office but another federal agency, with potential claims of executive privilege involving the White House further complicating its release.

Under law, the inspector general is meant to assess whether such complaints are credible within two weeks and, if so, forward them to Congress shortly thereafter – which reportedly has not happened in this case.

According to the Journal lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees were only alerted to the complaint’s existence in November but months later, still have not received it.

The whistleblower’s attorney, Andrew Bakaj, accused Gabbard’s office of obstructing the process by failing to provide clear guidance on how the complaint could be securely transmitted to Congress.

“From my experience, it is confounding for [Gabbard’s office] to take weeks – let alone eight months – to transmit a disclosure to Congress,” Bakaj told the newspaper.

Gabbard’s office flatly rejects that account, the Journal added. A spokesperson confirmed the complaint concerns the director of national intelligence but dismissed it as “baseless and politically motivated,” adding that staff have provided guidance to “support the eventual transmission of appropriate details to Congress.”

Former officials and watchdog experts told the Journal they are unaware of any precedent for a delay of this length.

The nature of the complaint against Gabbard, who raised eyebrows when she appeared at an FBI raid of a Georgia election office last week, is not yet known.

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