Gabbard says she's referred intel leaks to the DOJ
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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in Washington, D.C., last month. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said she made two criminal referrals over alleged classified information leaks and a third one is "on its way."
The big picture: The Trump administration has moved to crack down on leaks to journalists in recent weeks following a series of explosive reports, with the Pentagon firing three top officials after an internal investigation into "unauthorized disclosures" of national security information.
- Gabbard said on X last month she's "aggressively pursuing recent leakers from within the Intelligence Community and will hold them accountable."
State of play: A "recent illegal leak to the Washington Post" is among those Gabbard said she's referring to the DOJ.
- She didn't elaborate on which report this concerned, but Gabbard said on X in announcing the crackdown last month that a "leaker within the IC sharing information on Israel / Iran with the Washington Post" was among the "unauthorized leaks" she was looking at.
- The Post on Wednesday night cited three anonymous source as it reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had Signal installed "on a desktop computer in his Pentagon office," effectively cloning the messaging app on his personal cellphone.
What they're saying: "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," said Gabbard, who coordinates the work of 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, on X Wednesday.
- "These deep-state criminals leaked classified information for partisan political purposes to undermine POTUS' agenda."
- She added she looked forward to working with the DOJ and FBI "to investigate, terminate and prosecute these criminals."
- The FBI referred Axios to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Representatives for the ODNI and the DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment in the evening.
Go deeper: Senate Dems blast "incompetent" Trump officials over Signal leak
