Gabbard's Office Warns Over Complaint  02/10 06:19

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The general counsel for Director of National Intelligence 
Tulsi Gabbard on Monday warned the attorney for an anonymous government 
employee not to directly share a top-secret complaint about Gabbard's handling 
of classified material with members of Congress.

   The letter to attorney Andrew Bakaj is the latest escalation in the 
back-and-forth accusations over the classified complaint, which alleges that 
Gabbard withheld top-secret material for political reasons.

   Two inspectors general for the intelligence community reviewed the claim and 
found that particular allegation did not appear to be credible. Gabbard has 
denied any wrongdoing and said she did all she could to ensure the report 
reached Congress.

   Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees have blasted 
Gabbard's office over the handling of the complaint, questioning why it took 
eight months for it to be sent to select members of Congress as required by law.

   Here's what to know about the complaint and the next steps:

   What is known about the complaint

   The anonymous author of the complaint works for a U.S. intelligence agency 
and in May filed a report claiming that Gabbard withheld classified information 
for political reasons. Gabbard oversees the coordination of 18 intelligence 
agencies.

   The complaint made two allegations, according to a memo sent to lawmakers by 
the current inspector general, Christopher Fox: The first is that the 
"distribution of a highly classified intelligence report was restricted for 
political purposes," while the second accuses Gabbard's general counsel of 
failing to report a potential crime to the Justice Department.

   In June, the inspector general at the time, Tamara Johnson, found that the 
claim Gabbard distributed classified information along political lines did not 
appear to be credible, Fox said in the memo to lawmakers. Johnson was "unable 
to assess the apparent credibility" of the accusation about the general 
counsel's office, Fox wrote.

   The watchdog said he would have deemed the complaint non-urgent, meaning it 
never would have been referred to lawmakers.

   "If the same or similar matter came before me today, I would likely 
determine that the allegations do not meet the statutory definition of 'urgent 
concern,'" Fox wrote.

   The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets reported 
that the complaint stemmed from a call between two foreign nationals that 
mentioned someone close to President Donald Trump and was intercepted by the 
National Security Agency. The news reports, which cited anonymous sources, said 
the discussion involved Iran and that Gabbard notified the White House 
personally, while the complaint accused her of blocking the NSA from reporting 
the interaction to other agencies. The AP could not immediately confirm the 
reports.

   The NSA declined to offer details about the complaint Monday, saying in a 
statement that it works closely with the FBI and others to investigate the 
mishandling or disclosure of classified information.

   Gabbard's office warns attorney

   Bakaj, a former CIA officer and an attorney for the person making the 
complaint, offered to meet with certain lawmakers or their staffs to discuss 
the allegations and his concerns about Gabbard's review.

   ODNI's general counsel warned against that in its letter Monday, noting that 
Bakaj or his client could face criminal charges if they improperly revealed 
classified material during the briefing.

   "The highly classified nature of the underlying complaint increases the risk 
that you or your client inadvertently or otherwise breaks the law by divulging 
or mishandling classified information," the general counsel's office wrote. 
"You may have other means of appearing in front of Congress, but this is not 
it."

   Bakaj did not immediately respond to questions Monday about the letter.

   Under federal law, intelligence whistleblowers are entitled to ask to refer 
their complaints directly to key lawmakers even if the inspector general finds 
them non-credible, so long as they deem the allegations urgent. That 
determination was made by the original watchdog, but the complaint didn't reach 
lawmakers until last week.

   Copies of the top-secret complaint were hand-delivered beginning last week 
to the "Gang of Eight" -- a group comprised of the House and Senate leaders 
from both parties as well as the four top lawmakers on the House and Senate 
intelligence committees.

   Additional meetings for the remaining members are tentatively set for 
Wednesday.

   Democrats decry delay as GOP backs Gabbard

   Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence 
Committee, said he will push Gabbard for more answers about the underlying 
complaint and why it took so long to get the report to lawmakers.

   The number of redactions make it hard to evaluate the allegations, he said.

   "The fact that this sat out there for six, seven, eight months now and we 
are only seeing it now, raises huge concerns in and of itself," Warner said 
Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

   The Republicans who lead the intelligence committees are backing Gabbard, 
making it less likely the panels take further steps to investigate the 
complaint.

   "It seemed like an effort by the president's critics to undermine him," Sen. 
Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the Senate Intelligence Committee's chairman, wrote 
Saturday on X.

   Intelligence chief responds to critics

   Gabbard noted in a lengthy social media post Saturday that Johnson was 
appointed interim inspector general for the intelligence community during 
President Joe Biden's administration.

   She included a detailed timeline that she said shows she acted quickly to 
ensure the complaint reached Congress. Gabbard wrote that she was aware of the 
complaint in June and believed the investigation had ended after it was found 
non-credible, only for the inspector general's office to inform her in December 
that the complaint had to be reviewed, redacted and sent to members of Congress.

   "I took immediate action to provide the security guidance to the 
Intelligence Community Inspector General who then shared the complaint and 
referenced intelligence with relevant members of Congress last week," Gabbard 
wrote.

   She also accused Warner and the media of trying to use the complaint to 
smear her name.