Tulsi Gabbard Under Fire for Reportedly Revealing Undercover CIA Agent’s Name on X: ‘Sackable Offense’
Calls rang out on Thursday for President Donald Trump to fire his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, after a Wall Street Journal report found she posted the name of an undercover CIA agent working on Russia to social media without informing the CIA.
Last week, Gabbard posted a list of 37 names of former and current intelligence officers to X who she stripped of their security clearances and accused of “betraying their oath to the Constitution.” Gabbard has been pushing a widely refuted allegation that former President Barack Obama and officials in his administration were behind a “treasonous conspiracy” to create fake intel leaking Trump’s 2016 campaign to Russia.
“Gabbard didn’t know the CIA officer had been working undercover, according to a person familiar with the fallout from the list’s release. Three other people with knowledge of the situation said that Gabbard’s office didn’t meaningfully consult with the CIA before releasing the list,” reported The Wall Street Journal, later adding:
The national intelligence office didn’t seek the CIA’s input about the composition of the list, and the CIA had no foreknowledge of Gabbard’s posting on X the following day that revealed the names, including that of the covered CIA officer, according to two of the people familiar with the events.
A Gabbard spokesperson told the WSJ, “Director of National Intelligence Gabbard directed the revocations to ensure individuals who have violated the trust placed in them by weaponizing, politicizing, manipulating, or leaking classified intelligence are no longer allowed to do so.”
The outcry over the report was immediate and unsparing. The Economist’s defense editor, Shahank Joshi, wrote in response, “Unbelievable. This would be a resigning or sackable offence in any other administration.”
“Gabbard shouldn’t have been nominated or confirmed. She should have been fired a long time ago. The next best time to fire her would be now,” added The Dispatch’s Jonah Goldberg.
Below are some additional reactions:
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