On Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced that she recommended charges related to a pair of leaks.
“Politicization of our intelligence and leaking classified information puts our nation’s security at risk and must end. Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Gabbard said in a post on X.
“Today, I referred two intelligence community LEAKS to the Department of Justice for criminal referral, with a third criminal referral on its way, which includes the recent illegal leak to the Washington Post,” she added.
Gabbard was alluding to a disclosure on Iran and Israel to The Washington Post, which she referenced in March when announcing her inquiry into various leaks to the media.
The post did not disclose any further information, including who may have been the subject of the referrals. It remains to been seen whether the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its FBI look into the matter and decide whether charges are warranted.
“These deep-state criminals leaked classified information for partisan political purposes to undermine POTUS’ agenda. I look forward to working with [the DOJ] and [the FBI] to investigate, terminate and prosecute these criminals,” Gabbard concluded.
A combat veteran and former House lawmaker from Hawaii, Gabbard was confirmed by GOP-led Senate to become the director of national intelligence in President Donald Trump’s administration in mid-February via a 52-48 vote.
One month later, Gabbard vowed to track down leakers within the vast U.S. Intelligence Community, which has 18 members that include the CIA, National Security Agency, military branches, and the FBI.
“Our nation’s Intelligence Community must be focused on our national security mission. Politically motivated leaks undermine our national security and the trust of the American people, and will not be tolerated,” Gabbard said at the time in a threat posted to X.
“Unfortunately, such leaks have become commonplace with no investigation or accountability. That ends now. We know of and are aggressively pursuing recent leakers from within the Intelligence Community and will hold them accountable,” she continued.
Gabbard then listed some “recent examples of unauthorized leaks” within the Intelligence Community that resulted in disclosures to The Washington Post, HuffPost, and The Record. She also mentioned a “leaker within the IC sharing information about the U.S. – Russia relationship with NBC.”
She concluded that X thread by saying: “Any unauthorized release of classified information is a violation of the law and will be treated as such.”
The probe was announced before The Atlantic’s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg first reported that he gained access to a Signal group chat group in which leading Trump administration officials discussed plans for airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
In the ensuing fallout, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz took responsibility for the breach, which has been linked to the “automated suggestion” feature on his iPhone. But the Trump administration denied there was classified information in the conversation and the president has stood by Waltz.
