The Republican leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees have rejected a top-secret complaint from an anonymous government insider accusing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of withholding classified information for political reasons. The responses from Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Rick Crawford mean the complaint is unlikely to proceed further, the AP reports. Democratic lawmakers who have seen the document said they still question why it took Gabbard's office eight months to refer the complaint to Congress as required by law.
Gabbard's office has rejected allegations of wrongdoing as well as criticism of the timeframe for the referral, saying the complaint included so many classified details that it necessitated an extensive legal and security review. Select lawmakers were able to view the complaint this week. Cotton wrote Thursday on X that he agreed with an earlier inspector general's conclusion that the complaint did not appear to be credible. "To be frank, it seems like just another effort by the president's critics in and out of government to undermine policies that they don't like," wrote the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Crawford, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, said he believes the complaint was an attempt to smear Gabbard's reputation.
Democrats are pushing for explanations about why it took Gabbard's office months to refer the complaint to the required members of Congress. Sen. Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the law requires such a report to be sent within 21 days. "I think it was an effort to try to bury this whistleblower complaint," he said Thursday. Warner said he also still has questions about the details of the complaint, noting that it was heavily redacted. The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, said in a written statement that he will keep looking into the matter.
In a memo sent to lawmakers this week, the intelligence community's inspector general said the complaint also accused Gabbard's office of general counsel of failing to report a potential crime to the Department of Justice. The memo, which contains redactions, does not offer further details of either allegation. Andrew Bakaj, attorney for the person who made the complaint, has said that while he cannot discuss the details of the report or the identity of its author, there is no justification for keeping it from Congress since last spring. "Somebody's not telling the truth about what they knew or who knew the law or didn't know the law," Warner told CNN, per the Hill.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
