Gabbard’s office warns lawyers not to share confidential complaints with Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — General counsel for Director of National Intelligence Basil Gabbard warned a lawyer for an unnamed government employee Monday not to share classified complaints directly with members of Congress about Gabbard’s handling of classified material.

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

Two inspectors general for the intelligence community reviewed the claims and found that the specific allegations did not appear credible. Gabbard has denied any wrongdoing and said she did everything she could to ensure the report reached Congress.

Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees have blasted Gabbard’s office over its handling of the complaint and questioned why it took eight months to send it to select members of Congress, as required by law.

Here’s what to know about complaints and next steps:

What do you know about the complaint?

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

According to a memo sent to lawmakers by current Inspector General Christopher Fox, the complaint makes two allegations: the first is that “distribution of highly classified intelligence reports was restricted for political purposes,” while the second accuses Gabbard’s general counsel of failing to report potential crimes to the Justice Department.

In June, then-Inspector General Tamara Johnson found that Gabbard’s claims that she distributed classified information across political lines did not appear credible, Fox said in a memo to lawmakers. Johnson was “unable to assess the apparent credibility” of the allegations about the general counsel’s office, Fox wrote.

The watchdog said it considered the complaint urgent, meaning it was never sent to MPs.

“If the same or a similar matter came before me today, I would likely determine that the allegations do not meet the statutory definition of ‘substantial 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. News reports, which cited unnamed sources, said the discussions involved Iran and that Gabbard had personally notified the White House, while the complaint accused the NSA of preventing the NSA from reporting the interactions to other agencies. The AP could not immediately confirm the reports.

The NSA declined to offer details about the complaint on 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 the attorney

Bakaj, a former CIA officer and an attorney for the complainant, offered to meet with some lawmakers or their staff to discuss their concerns about the allegations and Gabbard’s review.

ODNI’s general counsel warned against it in a letter Monday, noting that Bakaj or his clients could face criminal charges if they improperly disclosed classified material during the briefing.

“The highly classified nature of the underlying complaint increases the risk that you or your client will violate the law by inadvertently or otherwise disclosing or mishandling classified information,” the general counsel’s office wrote. “You may have other means of appearing before Congress, but not this one.”

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

Under federal law, intelligence whistleblowers are entitled to ask for their complaints to be referred directly to key lawmakers even if the inspector general finds them non-credible, as long as they deem the allegations necessary. That determination was made by the original watchdog, but the complaint did not reach lawmakers until last week.

Copies of the top-secret complaint were handed over last week to the “Gang of Eight” — a group comprised of House and Senate leaders from both parties as well as the four top lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees.

A further meeting of the remaining members is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.

Democrats condemned the delay after the GOP endorsed Gabbard

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

The number of redactions makes it difficult to evaluate the allegations, he said.

“The fact that it’s been there for six, seven, eight months and we’re only seeing it now raises a huge concern in itself,” Warner said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

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

“This appeared to be an attempt by the president’s critics to undermine him,” Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote on Saturday X.

Intelligence chief responds to critics

Gabbard noted in a lengthy social media post Saturday that Johnson had been named interim inspector general for the intelligence community during President Joe Biden’s administration.

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

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

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