Gabbard's office warns attorney against sharing classified complaint
with Congress
[February 10, 2026]
By DAVID KLEPPER
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.
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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.
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