Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard defended her presence at an FBI search of a Georgia election office last week and said President Donald Trump had requested her presence.
Gabbard pushed back forcefully against criticism from Democrat lawmakers and media outlets, saying she acted fully within her legal authority to protect election integrity and national security.
"Contrary to the blatantly false and slanderous accusations being made against me by Members of Congress and their friends in the propaganda media, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has and will continue to take action under my statutory authorities to secure our nation and ensure the integrity of our elections," Gabbard wrote Monday night in a post on X.
The controversy centers on a Jan. 28 FBI search of the Office of the Clerk of the Superior Court in Fulton County, Georgia, related to records from the 2020 presidential election.
Some Democrats have claimed Gabbard's presence was inappropriate, arguing the nation's top intelligence official should not be involved in domestic law enforcement matters.
In a detailed letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner, D-Va., and House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes, D-Conn., Gabbard rejected those claims. She included the letter in her X post.
She said she accompanied FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate and the acting special agent in charge of the Atlanta field office only briefly and did not participate in the search itself, which was carried out under a court-approved warrant.
"My presence was requested by the President and executed under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security," Gabbard wrote, citing her responsibility to oversee counterintelligence, foreign influence threats, and cybersecurity.
Gabbard emphasized that the FBI's intelligence and counterintelligence divisions fall under her authority as director of national intelligence, which oversees 18 intelligence agencies.
She also noted that senior FBI officials in multiple field offices serve as her designated domestic intelligence representatives under a program established more than a decade ago.
While in Atlanta, Gabbard said she thanked FBI personnel for their professionalism and facilitated a brief phone call so the president could personally thank the agents involved. She stressed that neither she nor the president issued any directives.
"He did not ask any questions, nor did he or I issue any directives," she wrote.
Gabbard also defended her decision not to brief Congress in advance, saying it would be irresponsible to share incomplete intelligence assessments.
She warned that electronic voting systems have long faced vulnerabilities that could be exploited by determined actors and said ongoing intelligence reviews are necessary before conclusions are shared publicly.
Axios reported that Fulton County officials objected to the search and accused Trump allies of political retaliation.
However, the Department of Justice has said the search was authorized by a federal court, and Gabbard's office says her actions were reviewed and approved by ODNI's general counsel.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News that Gabbard was not part of the investigation and that her presence should not be surprising, given her role in election security and counterintelligence.
Gabbard said she will share intelligence findings with Congress once assessments are complete.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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