Whistleblower Complaint on Tulsi Gabbard Sparks Secrecy Fight in Washington

An explosive whistleblower complaint involving Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is being withheld from congressional review and is currently “locked in a safe,” according to a report published Monday by The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal describes “A cloak-and-dagger mystery” around the complaint, which is said to be locked in a safe. The report stated further that “It also implicates another federal agency beyond Gabbard’s, and raises potential claims of executive privilege that may involve the White House, officials said.”

Submitted last May to the intelligence community’s inspector general, the complaint remains completely undisclosed.

One official, speaking anonymously, warned the outlet that making the complaint public could result in “grave damage to national security.”

Lawmakers on the House and Senate intelligence committees first became aware of the complaint in November, after the whistleblower’s attorney accused Gabbard’s office in a formal letter of obstructing congressional access. The Journal reviewed that letter, which was disclosed for the first time Monday. Democratic committee staff have attempted to obtain the complaint but, according to the report, have met with “little success.”

Whistleblower attorney Andrew Bakaj criticized the delay, saying, “From my experience, it is confounding for [Gabbard’s office] to take weeks – let alone eight months – to transmit a disclosure to Congress.”

Bakaj, who previously represented the CIA officer whose 2019 whistleblower report led to former President Trump’s first impeachment, said he has likewise been denied access to the document. A representative from the inspector general’s office, speaking anonymously, told the Journal the complaint was placed in a secure safe due to its highly sensitive nature.

“Some complaints involve exceptionally sensitive materials necessitating special handling and storage requirements,” the official said. “This case is one of them.”