More details are coming out concerning alleged efforts by former President Barack Obama and his team&#8217;s efforts to gin up intelligence to create a narrative of Russian interference in the 2016 election, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Sunday.
Gabbard, a former congresswoman from Hawaii who broke with the Democratic Party, made the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-admin-suppressed-intel-showing-russia-didnt-impact-2016-election-tulsi-reveals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> on <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6375881194112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a> after first disclosing last week what she dubbed a &#8220;treasonous conspiracy&#8221; by high-level Obama administration officials to undermine President Donald Trump&#8217;s first term.
&#8220;Next week, we will be releasing more detailed information about how exactly this took place and the extent to which this information was sought to be hidden from the American people, hidden from officials who would be in a position to do something about it,&#8221; Gabbard told &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; host Maria Bartiromo.
She added later, &#8220;Accountability is essential for the future of our country. For the American people to have any sense of trust in the integrity of our democratic republic, accountability, action, prosecution, indictments for those who are responsible for trying to steal our democracy is essential for us to make sure that this never happens to our country again.&#8221;
In a <a href="https://x.com/DNIGabbard/status/1946271402971312514" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thread</a> posted to X on Friday, Gabbard shared clips of documents and contended that Obama directed his top intelligence officials to &#8220;create&#8221; a new intelligence assessment in December 2016 that contradicted prior analyses, after which they &#8220;leaned on their allies in the media to advance their falsehoods&#8221; and push the narrative that Russia &#8220;intervened to hack the election in Trump&#8217;s favor.&#8221;
Gabbard told Bartiromo that her team released 100 documents on Friday.
They &#8220;provide evidence of how this treasonous conspiracy was directed by President Obama just weeks before he was due to leave office after President Trump had already gotten elected,&#8221; she noted. Gabbard also said they were referring all the records to the Department of Justice and FBI for a criminal referral.
&#8220;So the effect of what President Obama and his senior national security team did was subvert the will of the American people, undermining our democratic republic, and enacting what would be essentially a years-long coup against President Trump, who was duly elected by the American people,&#8221; the Gabbard declared.
Democrats have shrugged off Gabbard&#8217;s endeavor.
&#8220;I actually hope that DOJ takes this to court. They won’t, because they know that the howls of laughter from that court will be heard in four time zones,&#8221; Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, <a href="https://x.com/jahimes/status/1946741445861474718" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;Watch for DOJ action. Not gonna happen. And when it doesn’t, I hope all the MAGA very online people ask why.&#8221;
But Gabbard said intelligence community whistleblowers are coming forward and pledged her team would do &#8220;all&#8221; they could to hold accountable those responsible for the &#8220;incredible lie&#8221; told to the American people.
Pressed on whether she expects indictments and prosecutions, Gabbard replied, &#8220;I&#8217;m not a lawyer. In my view, we have the evidence to be able to move forward and bring about justice, yes, to prosecute and indict those responsible.&#8221;
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DNI Tulsi Gabbard

‘Years-long Coup’: Gabbard Teases Release Of More Details On Obama Russia Intel Controversy

2016 Election

Barack Obama

Director of National Intelligence

Russia

Tulsi Gabbard

U.S.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified documents Friday revealing that the Obama administration changed intelligence assessments after the 2016 election to create a narrative of Russian interference, despite earlier intelligence community findings that Russia &#8220;did not impact&#8221; the election through cyber activities.
The intelligence community concluded before the election that Russia was &#8220;probably not trying … to influence the election by using cyber means,&#8221; according to the declassified records <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-admin-manufactured-intelligence-create-2016-russian-election-interference-narrative-documents-show">obtained</a> by Fox News. However, following Trump’s unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton, their tone appeared to have changed.
“On Dec 8, 2016, IC officials prepared an assessment for the President&#8217;s Daily Brief, finding that Russia ‘did not impact recent U.S. election results’ by conducting cyber attacks on infrastructure,” Gabbard wrote in a thread on X. “Before it could reach the President, it was abruptly pulled ‘based on new guidance.’ This key intelligence assessment was never published.”
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🧵 Americans will finally learn the truth about how in 2016, intelligence was politicized and weaponized by the most powerful people in the Obama Administration to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>, subverting the… <a href="https://t.co/UQKKZ5c4Op">pic.twitter.com/UQKKZ5c4Op</a>
&mdash; DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) <a href="https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard/status/1946271402971312514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The presidential brief prepared for President Obama on December 8, 2016, stated: &#8220;We assess that Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure,” noting that any Russian activities &#8220;probably were intended to cause psychological effects, such as undermining the credibility of the election process and candidates.&#8221;
The brief concluded that it was &#8220;highly unlikely&#8221; Russian interference &#8220;would have resulted in altering any state’s official vote result.&#8221;
&#8220;Criminal activity also failed to reach the scale and sophistication necessary to change election outcomes,&#8221; it stated.
The FBI raised immediate objections to the brief and requested that its publication be delayed until the bureau could address its concerns. Under then-Director James Comey, the FBI drafted a formal &#8220;dissent&#8221; to the original briefing.
Subsequently, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence postponed internal publication of the Presidential Daily Brief, citing &#8220;new guidance&#8221; as the reason for the delay.
Just one day later, on December 9, a meeting was called in the White House Situation Room to discuss Russian election interference with top officials, including then-CIA Director John Brennan, then-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, then-Secretary of State John Kerry, and then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Following this meeting, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper threw out the old analysis and tasked intelligence leaders with crafting a new assessment &#8220;per the president&#8217;s request,&#8221; detailing &#8220;tools Moscow used and actions it took to influence the 2016 election.&#8221;
Gabbard revealed: “According to whistleblower emails shared with us today, we know Clapper and Brennan used the baseless discredited Steele Dossier as a source to push this false narrative in the intelligence assessment.”
Intelligence sources told Fox News the new report “was based on information that was known by those involved to be manufactured i.e. the Steele Dossier or deemed as not credible,&#8221; and the CIA had previously dismissed it as filled with &#8220;internet rumor[s].&#8221;
By January 6, 2017, a new Intelligence Community Assessment was released that &#8220;directly contradicted the IC assessments that were made throughout the previous six months,&#8221; the ODNI office told Fox News.
Intelligence officials told Fox News they consider the assessment to have been blatantly &#8220;politicized&#8221; after it &#8220;suppressed intelligence from before and after the election showing Russia lacked intent and capability to hack the 2016 election.&#8221;
&#8220;The information we are releasing today clearly shows there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government,&#8221; Gabbard told Fox News. &#8220;Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup with the objective of trying to usurp the President from fulfilling the mandate bestowed upon him by the American people.&#8221;
&#8220;No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, to ensure nothing like this ever happens again,&#8221; Gabbard said. &#8220;The American people’s faith and trust in our democratic republic and therefore the future of our nation depends on it.&#8221;
Gabbard concluded: &#8220;As such, I am providing all documents to the Department of Justice to deliver the accountability that President Trump, his family, and the American people deserve.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-SECURITY-INTELLIGENCE-FBI-OBAMA-COMEY

Obama Admin Suppressed Intel Showing Russia Didn’t Impact 2016 Election, Tulsi Reveals

Donald Trump

Elections

James Comey

John Brennan

National Intelligence

Steele Dossier

Trump Administration

WASHINGTON—Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard established a special task force in April aimed at restoring transparency and accountability to the Intelligence Community, and fixing the broken system that has allowed weaponization to run rampant throughout the United States government.
That task force is named the &#8220;Director&#8217;s Initiatives Group,&#8221; or DIG, and it is tasked with executing President Donald Trump&#8217;s intelligence-related executive orders. According to an Office of the Director of National Intelligence official, DIG includes some of the best and brightest minds in the intelligence community.
So far, the ODNI official shared, DIG has exposed how the Biden administration weaponized the intelligence community against Americans by releasing formerly classified documents showing how the Biden administration targeted political opponents through its &#8220;Domestic Violent Extremism agenda.&#8221;
DIG also identified and terminated intelligence community employees who were using their roles to push ideology, and revoked the security clearances for the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden &#8220;disinformation letter,&#8221; as well as former President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and Jake Sullivan.
The task force has also led the intelligence community in locating and de-classifying documents that pertain to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.
<div id="attachment_943569" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-tulsi-gabbard-is-draining-the-rotten-intelligence-community/senate-intelligence-committee-hearing-on-worldwide-threats-3" rel="attachment wp-att-943569"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-943569" class="wp-image-943569 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2206315219-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2206315219-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2206315219-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2206315219-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2206315219.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Intelligence leaders testifying on worldwide threats (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)</div>
DIG has also finalized plans for organizational changes that it hopes will lead to reducing government waste and saving money.
Gabbard&#8217;s team believes the heavy pushback it is receiving is proof positive that they are on the right track to taking on the &#8220;rotted intelligence community.&#8221;
They aren&#8217;t done, however.
According to an ODNI official, DIG has plans to obtain previous intelligence community assessments of election infrastructure showing the vulnerabilities in the 2022 and 2020 elections.
DIG also plans to conduct forensic analyses of past elections to investigate vulnerabilities in the American election infrastructure, the official shared.
The task force also plans to interview whistleblowers with firsthand knowledge and evidence of the politicization of intelligence, such as the Russian Collusion hoax and the Hunter Biden laptop scandal.
&#8220;The task force&#8217;s job is to understand how the intelligence community has failed in areas like this, hold accountable those who actively allowed or participated in it, and provide recommendations for oversight that will prevent it from happening again,&#8221; the ODNI official said.
Another DIG plan: to further declassify examples of the Biden administration&#8217;s use of the &#8220;domestic terrorist&#8221; label to help Americans understand how the previous administration leveraged the security state against political dissidents.
DIG also will investigate how free speech has been restricted by looking into organizational and funding links between the intelligence community and the tech sector, the ODNI official shared, and it will also investigate how the intelligence community contributed to United States tax dollars funding gain-of-function research around the world.
These are only a few of the items that Gabbard&#8217;s task force is focused on, the official shared with The Daily Wire. A number of other sensitive and classified projects are also in the works, and when Gabbard can share more, the official said, she will.
The task force includes members of the ODNI, CIA, NSA, FBI, and the Defense Department. All members have Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance, and are required to take polygraphs within 90 days of reporting for duty. The task force is carried out and authorized under 50 USC Sec. 3024, a provision that states a duty to provide national intelligence that is &#8220;timely, objective, independent of political considerations&#8230;based on all sources available to the IC.&#8221;
The official shared with The Daily Wire that ODNI is utilizing its oversight authority, which has never been done before.
Under Gabbard&#8217;s watch, intelligence community officials &#8220;should expect that someone will be actively checking their homework, ensuring analytical integrity and unbiased collection, and compliance with constitutional and statutory mandates.&#8221;

Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing On Worldwide Threats

Here’s Tulsi Gabbard’s Plan To Drain The ‘Rotted Intelligence Community’

Deep State

Joe Biden

White House

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard took aim at The Washington Post on Thursday, accusing one of the outlet&#8217;s reporters of &#8220;harassing&#8221; her staffers and even &#8220;demanding they share sensitive information.&#8221;
Gabbard called out reporter Ellen Nakashima by name, accusing her of using underhanded methods to get sensitive information from staffers at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and saying that the same reporter had used similar tactics on her and her family when she was in her home state of Hawaii.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It has come to my attention that Washington Post reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/nakashimae?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nakashimae</a> appears to be actively harassing ODNI staff. Instead of reaching out to my press office, she is calling high level Intelligence Officers from a burner phone, refusing to identify herself, lying about the fact…
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) <a href="https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard/status/1940796626735395098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;It has come to my attention that Washington Post reporter @nakashimae appears to be actively harassing ODNI staff,&#8221; Gabbard announced in a post on X. &#8220;Instead of reaching out to my press office, she is calling high level Intelligence Officers from a burner phone, refusing to identify herself, lying about the fact that she works for the Washington Post, and then demanding they share sensitive information.&#8221;
&#8220;Apparently, publishing leaked classified material wasn&#8217;t enough for the Washington Post, so now they’ve decided to go after the Intelligence professionals charged to protect it,&#8221; the former Congresswoman (D-HI) added. &#8220;This is a clear political op by the same outlet and the same reporter who harassed and stalked my family in Hawaii. This kind of deranged behavior reflects a media establishment so desperate to sabotage @POTUS’s successful agenda that they’ve abandoned even a facade of journalistic integrity and ethics.&#8221;
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-2388">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
&#8220;The Washington Post should be ashamed, and they should put an end to this immediately,&#8221; she declared.
The Post fired back with a statement from Executive Editor Matt Murray, defending Nakashima and saying, &#8220;For three decades, Ellen Nakashima has been one of the most careful, fair-minded, and highly regarded reporters covering national security. Reaching out to potential sources rather than relying solely on official government press statements regarding matters of public interest is neither nefarious nor is it harassment. It is basic journalism. DNI Gabbard’s unfounded personal attack reflects a fundamental misunderstanding about the role of journalists to report on government officials and hold power to account, without fear or favor and regardless of party. The Post remains committed to that vital and constitutionally protected work.&#8221;

Tulsi Gabbard’s Senate confirmation hearing for national intelligence director in Washington

Tulsi Gabbard Unloads On Washington Post, Says Reporter Is ‘Actively Harassing’ Staffers

Media

Politics

Washington Post

President Trump&#8217;s Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard says the media is misrepresenting her assessment of Iran&#8217;s nuclear program.
In a Friday post following a barb from Trump that she was &#8220;wrong&#8221; about Iran, Gabbard said that the media misrepresented her intelligence assessment.
&#8220;The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division,&#8221; Gabbard said, along with video of her March testimony. &#8220;America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can’t happen, and I agree.&#8221;
Gabbard&#8217;s assessment has been seized on by many who oppose any military action to take out Iran&#8217;s nuclear program, who point to her statement that the intelligence community &#8220;continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.&#8221; That statement was followed up, however, by Gabbard telling the committee that Iran was enriching uranium at a level unprecedented for any nation that was not pursuing nuclear weapons.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division. America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the… <a href="https://t.co/mYxjpJY2ud">pic.twitter.com/mYxjpJY2ud</a>
&mdash; DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) <a href="https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard/status/1936174674595008517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
The post came just hours after Trump insisted on Friday that his intelligence shows that Iran is building a nuclear weapon when asked about Gabbard&#8217;s assessment.
In response to a reporter&#8217;s contention that Trump&#8217;s &#8220;intelligence community has said they have no evidence&#8221; that Iran is &#8220;building a nuclear weapon,&#8221; Trump replied, asking where the reporter was getting his information.
“Well, then my intelligence community is wrong,” Trump replied bluntly. “Who in the intelligence community said that?”
“Your Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard,” the reporter answered.
“She’s wrong,” Trump said succinctly.
Trump had been asked about Gabbard&#8217;s assessment before, and similarly dismissed it.
On Tuesday, speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one.”
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on Iran: &quot;I think they were very close to having&quot; a nuclear weapon. <a href="https://t.co/BXOIrJUobk">pic.twitter.com/BXOIrJUobk</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1934919351540273619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Gabbard&#8217;s team has said the intelligence official is in lockstep with Trump on Iran, and pushed back against reports that she was out of the loop on questions of whether or not to strike its nuclear program.
Below is Gabbard&#8217;s full testimony on Iran, which also includes her stating that Iran has powerful weapons capable of striking U.S. targets:
<blockquote>Iran continues to seek expansion of its influence in the Middle East, despite the degradation to its proxies and defenses during the Gaza conflict. Iran has developed and maintains ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and UAVs, including systems capable of striking U.S. targets and allies in the region. Tehran has shown a willingness to use these weapons, including during a 2020 attack on U.S. forces in Iraq and in attacks against Israel in April and October 2024. Iran’s cyber operations and capabilities also present a serious threat to U.S. networks and data.
The IC continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003. The IC continues to monitor closely if Tehran decides to reauthorize its nuclear weapons program. In the past year, we have seen an erosion of a decades-long taboo in Iran on discussing nuclear weapons in public, likely emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran’s decision-making apparatus. Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.
Iran will likely continue efforts to counter Israel and press for a U.S. military withdrawal from the region by aiding, arming, and helping to reconstitute its loose consortium of like-minded terrorist and militant actors, which it refers to as its “Axis of Resistance.” Although weakened, this collection of actors still presents a wide range of threats, including to Israel’s population, U.S. forces deployed in Iraq and Syria, and to U.S. and international military and commercial shipping and transit.</blockquote>
On Friday, a reporter <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6374629947112">asked</a>, “Mr. President, the Iranian Foreign Minister this afternoon said if the U.S. is serious about negotiations, then you would call up Israel and request that they stop their airstrikes. Will you make that request?”
“Well, I think it’s very hard to make that request right now,” Trump answered. “If somebody’s winning, it’s a little bit harder to do than if somebody’s losing.”
Asked about the two-week ultimatum he gave Iran to surrender, Trump said it was “just a time to see whether or not people will come to their senses.”
Trump recalled how he opposed the war in Iraq because he did not believe they had weapons of mass destruction, then turned to Iran, saying, “It looked like I’m right about the material that they’ve gathered already; it’s a tremendous amount of material. And I think in a matter of weeks or certainly within a matter of months, they’re going to be able to have a nuclear weapon. We can’t let that happen.”

Donald Trump, Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard Says Media Misrepresents Her Intel Assessment On Iran Nukes

Global Politics

Iran

Nuclear Weapons

World

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard joined President Donald Trump in the Situation Room on Tuesday following a report that she was not invited to attend a June 8 Camp David retreat, where the president &#8220;convened senior national security officials to discuss the Middle East.&#8221;
According to a <a href="https://x.com/JenGriffinFNC/status/1935020530337284546">report</a> from Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy, Gabbard &#8220;had a scheduling conflict with National Guard orders, but was never invited [to Camp David] in the first place.&#8221; A senior intelligence official told The Daily Wire that the Camp David retreat was not originally planned to be an intelligence meeting and that CIA Director John Ratcliffe also wasn&#8217;t initially invited to attend, but he ended up going at the last minute. The senior intelligence official added that Tuesday&#8217;s national security meeting with Trump in the Situation Room was moved to the afternoon so that Gabbard could attend.
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Tulsi Gabbard is in the Situation Room with Trump and his team right now, according to a senior intelligence official. 
The meeting was supposed to be earlier, but was shifted to 1 o&#39;clock so that Tulsi could attend, the official says. She was testifying on the Hill.
&mdash; Brent Scher (@BrentScher) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentScher/status/1935042470112305641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Earlier on Tuesday, Trump dismissed Gabbard&#8217;s March testimony before Congress, when she said Iran did not appear to be building a nuclear weapon.
“I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One while on his way back to the White House from the G7 summit in Canada.
Gabbard said in her opening statement before Congress in March that the intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.” She acknowledged that &#8220;in the past year, we’ve seen an erosion of a decades-long taboo in Iran on discussing nuclear weapons in public, likely emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran’s decision-making apparatus.&#8221;
“Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons,” she added.
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From March 26 House Intelligence Committee, DNI Tulsi Gabbard: &quot;The IC continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme leader Khomeini has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.&quot;
Full video here: <a href="https://t.co/5PRCofvScf">https://t.co/5PRCofvScf</a> <a href="https://t.co/Mb5dj8zoAo">pic.twitter.com/Mb5dj8zoAo</a>
&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1935000400437903639?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Asked to respond to Trump&#8217;s comments, Gabbard backed the president, saying there is no conflict between his stance on Iran and her prior statements to Congress.
&#8220;What President Trump is saying is the same thing I said in my annual threat assessment in March to Congress,&#8221; Gabbard said, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/5354764-trump-gabbard-iran-intelligence-assessment/">The Hill</a>.
A senior intelligence official told <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/06/17/trump-gabbard-iran-nuclear-weapon-testimony">Axios</a> that Gabbard&#8217;s testimony does not contradict Trump&#8217;s statement that Iran is close to building a nuclear weapon.
&#8220;There&#8217;s a distinction. Just because they don&#8217;t have one does not mean that they don&#8217;t want to build one,&#8221; the official said.
Israeli intelligence suggested that the radical Islamic regime was close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, while a U.S. intelligence official told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/17/politics/israel-iran-nuclear-bomb-us-intelligence-years-away">CNN</a>, &#8220;If Iran wanted one, they have all the things they need.”
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, joined the Republican Party after endorsing Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign last year. During her time in the Trump administration, Gabbard has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/from-asia-tulsi-gabbard-hails-trump-as-president-of-peace-amid-rising-china-threat?author=Jayden+Jelso&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=From+Asia%2C+Tulsi+Gabbard+Hails+Trump+As+%E2%80%98President+Of+Peace%E2%80%99+Amid+Rising+China+Threat">hailed</a> Trump as &#8220;the president of peace.&#8221;
This article has been updated with additional information.

Tulsi Gabbard Joins Trump In Situation Room Amid Reports Of Rift With President

Israel

Middle East

A top intelligence official who told Congress she was blindsided by a dismissal in her office was in fact informed of the personnel move directly by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard herself, according to internal memos obtained by The Daily Wire.
Tamara Johnson, the acting Intelligence Community Inspector General, informed a group of congressional Democrats that Gabbard &#8220;unilaterally terminated&#8221; one of Johnson&#8217;s top deputies without getting Johnson&#8217;s approval. But a memo sent by Gabbard to Johnson on May 30 — nearly two weeks before Johnson&#8217;s claims to the senators were made public — shows that Gabbard not only informed Johnson that Acting General Counsel Stephanie McDonald would be fired, but also that Gabbard believed she had Johnson&#8217;s support for the move.
&#8220;You agreed to terminate Ms. McDonald&#8217;s employment and volunteered to notify Ms. McDonald of the decision in coordination with ODNI [Human Resources],&#8221; Gabbard wrote in the memo to Johnson, which was <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/06-02-2025_MEM_DNI-Response-to-Acting-IC-IG-re-Trial-Period-Employee_25-00805_Redacted_STAMPED.pdf">obtained in full</a> by The Daily Wire. &#8220;The [Chief Operating Officer] and [ODNI&#8217;s] Acting General Counsel emphasized that your support was appreciated, along with your agreement to take the action.&#8221;
A May 20 memo, also obtained by The Daily Wire, memorializes the conversation between the COO, ODNI&#8217;s top lawyer, and Johnson, in which the decision to terminate McDonald was presented. In that memo, ODNI COO Lora Shiao wrote that Johnson &#8220;confirmed her approval of DNI&#8217;s decision&#8221; to fire McDonald during a May 15 video call.
Shiao added that she and ODNI&#8217;s top lawyer &#8220;emphasized that we appreciated [Johnson&#8217;s] support&#8221; for firing McDonald, and her &#8220;agreement to take this action.&#8221; Johnson reportedly told the officials from Gabbard&#8217;s office that &#8220;she would notify Stephanie McDonald of the decision in coordination with ODNI Human Resource management,&#8221; the memo reads.
In her May 30 memo to Johnson, Gabbard argues that she didn&#8217;t need her approval, but sought it anyway. She said that, &#8220;Despite not needing your approval to terminate a probationary employee of ODNI, I had my office reach out to you to discuss the termination.&#8221;
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The memos contradict claims from Johnson included in the Monday <a href="https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/5/8/58b43691-9d80-427e-bf06-1fc82b0d4276/EC312422A68397B50570A8188320C64A8E5A4F40C6A1C16954E7418932CCF713.letter-to-dni-re-icig-unresolved-differences-with-the-dni.pdf">letter</a> from Democrats alleging that Gabbard acted “contrary to law,” and “never sufficiently explained” why she had fired McDonald. 
The spat with the acting inspector general comes as Gabbard works to weed out politicization of the inspector general&#8217;s office, which is supposed to be an impartial watchdog for the intelligence community. Top officials at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence say the office remains beholden to partisan interests, and has resisted changes ordered by the Trump administration. 
Johnson has “failed to demonstrate timely compliance with Presidential direction regarding DEI matters, politicization of the work environment, and workforce optimization,” according to a document prepared by an intelligence official from Gabbard&#8217;s office obtained by The Daily Wire.
The document paints a picture of an office that appears beset by anti-Trump sentiment. 
For example, Johnson waited over 30 days to remove DEI language from mission statements displayed throughout office areas and took nearly 60 days to remove DEI language from its internal website, according to the intelligence official. In contrast, Gabbard’s office removed all references to DEI within five days of Trump’s executive order.
Johnson’s office also refused to let her employees take advantage of Trump’s DOGE initiatives, including use of Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA), according to the document. 
“Several ODNI cadre employees, at that time assigned to [Johnson’s] office, indicated their intent to take advantage of these incentives. [Johnson’s] office stated that they did not wish to offer these incentives to their eligible employees and that the DNI did not have the authority to do so, despite existing [Office of Personnel Management] guidance to the contrary,” the intelligence official noted. 
There were also complaints against Johnson’s office not putting up photos of Trump and Vice President JD Vance after the inauguration where photos of former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been. New photos were not displayed until May 2025, after a senior advisor for Gabbard arrived and took steps to resolve the issue. 
“The employee complaint noted that their absence was perceived as a politically motivated slight to new leadership by some members of the workforce,” the intelligence official noted. 
The review of Johnson’s office also found allegations that employees were told “to deprioritize responding to inquiries from Republicans in Congress,” and that taxpayer dollars were misspent.  
ODNI senior advisors reported that Johnson’s office had a reputation for accumulating “large quantities of branded swag that was not specifically for purposes of recruiting or other authorized activities” and that Johnson herself had spent $10,000 of taxpayer dollars on an ornamental throw rug for her office when she was deputy inspector general. 
Johnson’s office also violated Intelligence Community policy by storing hundreds of branded thumb drives in classified facilities, according to senior advisors from Gabbard’s office. When reached for comment, the Inspector General&#8217;s office said it had no comment on the firings or politicization claims.

Senate Intelligence Cmte Holds Confirmation Hearing For DNI Nominee Tulsi Gabbard

Internal Memo Undermines Dem Claims That Tulsi Gabbard Is Meddling With An Intel Watchdog

The Trump administration ended an airport surveillance program on Thursday that it said had been “weaponized” by the Biden administration. 
The Department of Homeland Security said that it was closing down the Quiet Skies program because it had been used for political purposes and had not stopped any terrorist attacks. The Quiet Skies <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pia-tsa-spqs018i-april2019_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">program</a> was an initiative run by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that flagged fliers deemed by intelligence officials to “pose an elevated security risk” for “enhanced screening” and potential observation by federal Air Marshals. 
“It is clear that the Quiet Skies program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration — weaponized against its political foes and exploited to benefit their well-heeled friends. I am calling for a Congressional investigation to unearth further corruption at the expense of the American people and the undermining of US national security,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. 
 “TSA&#8217;s critical aviation and security vetting functions will be maintained, and the Trump Administration will return TSA to its true mission of being laser-focused on the safety and security of the traveling public. This includes restoring the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans,” she added. 
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
The program costs $200 million per year and has stopped zero terrorist attacks since its inception in 2010, according to Homeland Security. 
Noem said that enhanced Quiet Skies screening was wrongly placed on Biden administration critic Tulsi Gabbard, who is now the Director of National Intelligence, while she was campaigning for President Donald Trump. She added that preferential treatment was given to the husband of a Democratic senator. 
On Wednesday, Homeland Security claimed that William Shaheen, the husband of New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, was given a blanket exemption from Quiet Skies after he was flagged for traveling “with a Known or Suspected Terrorist on three occasions.” The exception was granted after Senator Shaheen lobbied the federal government for her husband&#8217;s removal from the Quiet Skies list, according to the department. 
Shaheen has disputed those claims, saying that she was unaware that her husband was ever flagged as a security risk by the Quiet Skies program. 
&#8220;Senator Shaheen contacted the Transportation Security Administration after her husband was subjected to several extensive, invasive and degrading searches at airport checkpoints,&#8221; her office said. &#8220;Senator Shaheen sought to understand the nature and cause of these searches. Any suggestion that the senator&#8217;s husband was supposedly included on a Quiet Skies list is news to her and had never been raised before yesterday, nor was she aware of any action taken following her call to remove him from such a list.&#8221;
Noem called for Congress to open up an investigation into Quiet Skies in addition to her department’s internal probe.

Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and former

Trump Admin Ends ‘Weaponized’ Airport Security Surveillance Program

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard praised the progress made at Asia&#8217;s premier security conference in an interview with Morning Wire, saying it proves that global leaders are willing to engage in diplomacy that further facilitates peace.
“The goal here within this region, as well as others around the world, is to be able to achieve [peace],” Gabbard told Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. “That’s why these kinds of conferences are so important.”
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Her remarks come after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated at the conference that “any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world.”
On April 1, the Chinese military announced large-scale drills in the waters surrounding Taiwan, saying they were meant as a warning and a forceful containment against the country’s independence, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-white-house-confronts-china-over-taiwan-military-provocations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Hesgeth met with counterparts in Japan and the Philippines afterward, promising to counter China’s aggression.
Gabbard said the context of Hegseth’s statement at the conference is important, and that current indications show China does not intend to take military action.
“The overwhelming message that Pete delivered is the message that we hear from President Trump, which is that he is the president of peace,” Gabbard said.
Still, Gabbard told The Daily Wire that despite saber rattling from Beijing, it’s unlikely that they’ll engage in military action against regional rivals in the immediate future.
Asked how much the ongoing summit has focused on China, Gabbard said it has been a topic of conversation, but not the primary focus.
“Counterterrorism has been a really common topic that has come up from countries from across the region,” Gabbard said.
“The issue of transnational criminal organizations has been a predominant concern as well, and there’s been a lot of questions coming from other countries about some of the actions that we are taking under President Trump’s leadership, not only to secure our own borders, but to deal with the cartels who are trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics.”
Though fentanyl trafficking is a prominent issue for the United States, other countries report that traffickers’ drug of choice is methamphetamine, providing important insight into understanding the drivers of these criminal activities.
“The Biden administration’s last four years of, essentially, open borders … really rolled out the red carpet for these cartels to be able to … come in and out of our country and conduct these illegal activities,” Gabbard said. “Unfortunately, what we’re seeing more and more is how deeply entrenched they already are in our communities.”
Gabbard revealed that weapons and sex trafficking are also common issues throughout the Southeast Asian region, as well as the Middle East and Europe, harming more people than just American citizens. Her department is working closely with Attorney General Pam Bondi, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security to deal with these already existing threats in America.
“We are securing our border,” Gabbard assured. “It is more secure now than it has been in a very, very long time.”

President-Elect Trump’s Nominees For Upcoming Administration Continue Meeting With Lawmakers On Capitol Hill

From Asia, Tulsi Gabbard Hails Trump As ‘President Of Peace’ Amid Rising China Threat

China

Morning Wire

Pete Hegseth

Tensions flare up between the United States and China amid a major defense summit in Asia; the political and legal battle over males competing in female sports ramps up in California; Trump hammers out what’s being called the biggest steel deal in history; and the FBI is investigating a suspected terror attack after a firebombing of a pro-Israel event in Colorado.
It’s Monday, June 2, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2>United States &amp; China Trade Barbs At Asian Security Summit</h2>
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Topline: Tensions between the United States and China flare up amid a major defense summit in Asia.
A major defense summit in Asia called the Shangri-La Dialogue that began Saturday has already led to some positive partnerships – as well as the U.S. and China trading barbs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned about China’s growing military threat, while China accused the United States of “stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific.”
“China is ‘preparing to use military force’ to alter the situation there in Asia,” Hegseth <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/31/world/video/hegseth-singapore-china-threat-taiwan-vrtc">said</a>. “There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told The Daily Wire that despite saber rattling from Beijing, it’s unlikely that they’ll engage in military action against regional rivals in the immediate future. Gabbard also told The Daily Wire that much of the conference was spent working with allies to shape policy on a range of issues, not only with respect to China, but also counterterrorism operations and joint law enforcement efforts against cartels and other international criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and other illegal enterprises across international borders.
“The overwhelming message that [Secretary Hegseth] delivered is the message that we hear from President Trump, which is that he is the president of peace,” Gabbard said. “The goal here within this region, as well as in others around the world, is to be able to achieve that … to come together and engage in dialogue, engage in diplomacy … [and] best pursue our goal of peace and stability that best serve our respective peoples in our countries and around the world.”
<h2>California Track Championship Violates Title IX, Stokes Trans Athlete Controversy</h2>
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Topline: The debate over transgender-identifying athletes in women’s sports is flaring up again, this time in California, where, in defiance of federal policy, a 16-year-old male won two state track and field titles.
On Saturday, protesters gathered outside a stadium in Clovis, California, which was hosting the California Interscholastic Federation State Track and Field Championships. AB Hernandez, a junior male athlete, took first place in the girls’ high jump and triple jump, and second in the long jump. Some held “Save Girls’ Sports” signs, while others supported Hernandez with pro-transgender messages. An airplane even flew overhead with a banner reading “No Boys in Girls’ Sports,” funded by groups like the Independent Council on Women’s Sports. Meanwhile, a pro-trans protester was arrested for assaulting a “Save Girls’ Sports” demonstrator.
Hernandez’s victory flies directly in the face of President Trump’s February 5 executive order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,&#8221; which bars boys who identify as girls from competing in women’s and girls’ sports, citing fairness for female athletes. Trump specifically called out Hernandez on social media, claiming he’s “practically unbeatable,” and threatened to cut federal funding to California if Hernandez competed. California, however, upheld its state law, which allows transgender-identifying students to play based on their professed gender identity.
The U.S. Department of Justice has now launched a Title IX investigation into whether California’s policies violate girls’ rights.
Julie Hamill, President of the California Justice Center, told <a href="https://x.com/JenniferSey/status/1928801014678696268">CNN</a> that California deserves to lose federal funding over its defiance of Title IX policy, and she thinks Hernandez is being mistreated here as well.
“I view AB Hernandez as the victim in this situation,” Hamill said. “I feel for him, and I feel that he has been lied to for his entire life, and it&#8217;s probably very destabilizing and difficult for him right now to realize that what he&#8217;s been told is not actually reality. He cannot become a girl. What he can do is compete in the male category.”
<h2>U.S. Steel Merges With Japanese Company, Announces Billions In American Investments</h2>
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Topline: President Trump hammers out a massive steel deal that Pennsylvania officials say could transform the industry.
President Trump announced a blockbuster deal to bring billions of dollars in new investments to the American steel industry. The news comes as a near record number of Americans say the country is heading in the right direction.
In 2023, Japan’s Nippon Steel offered $15 billion to acquire the iconic U.S. Steel, the second-largest steel producer in America. The company’s board and shareholders approved the sale, but President Joe Biden blocked the acquisition, saying it was critical to national security to maintain American ownership of U.S. Steel. But over the weekend, President Trump announced that after lengthy negotiations, Nippon had agreed to a merger that would preserve American ownership of U.S. Steel. The agreement requires that a majority of the company’s board be American citizens, and C-suite employees, including the CEO, must be American as well. The U.S. government itself will hold a “golden share” of the company, giving it veto power over key decisions.
“We&#8217;re going to produce our own metal, unleash our own energy, secure our own future, build our country, control our destiny,” Trump said during the announcement in Pennsylvania. “We are once again going to put Pennsylvania steel into the backbone of America like never before.”
As part of the agreement, Nippon will invest more than $14 billion into new steel facilities across Indiana, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Alabama — some estimates say the deal will create nearly 150,000 new American jobs. According to Trump, every U.S. Steel employee will receive a $5,000 bonus. As part of his effort to protect American steel manufacturing, the president also announced he would double the tariff on foreign steel from 25% to 50%.
Last month, amid tariff uncertainty and fears of a recession, President Trump’s <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/approval/donald-trump/approval-rating">job approval rating</a> was on the decline, falling on average to 45% approval and 52% disapproval. But following a flurry of trade deals and encouraging jobs and inflation reports, he’s gaining ground fast and is now less than two points underwater, with a 48% average approval rating, which is higher than at any point in his first term. Nearly 44% of Americans now say the country is on the right track, the highest share since President Barack Obama’s first year in office in 2009.
<h2>Egyptian National Attacks Pro-Israel Demonstration, Detained By Authorities</h2>
At least six people were injured Sunday afternoon in a firebombing attack at a pro-Israel event in Boulder, Colorado. Police say victims suffered “injuries consistent with burns.” Officials detained the suspect and have since identified him as Mohamed Sabry Soliman. Three DHS senior officials told <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1929343593602597179">Fox News</a> that the suspect is an Egyptian national who illegally overstayed his visa after entering the United States during the Biden administration. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau is “fully investigating” what they believe to be a “targeted terror attack.”

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Morning Brief: Defense Summit Drama & Trump’s Steel Revival

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On Thursday evening, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said former FBI Director James Comey should be thrown in jail for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disgraced-former-fbi-chief-deletes-86-47-post-that-got-kash-patels-attention" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a social media post</a> widely seen as threatening President Donald Trump.
Gabbard told Fox News host Jesse Watters that she &#8220;absolutely&#8221; did not buy Comey&#8217;s claim that he did not realize that a photo he posted to Instagram of shells on a beach showing &#8220;86&#8221; and &#8220;47&#8221; had anything to do with violence.
&#8220;I&#8217;m very concerned for [Trump&#8217;s] life. And James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this,&#8221; Gabbard said.
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James Comey just issued a call to action to murder the President of the United States.
As a former FBI Director and someone who spent most of his career prosecuting mobsters and gangsters, he knew exactly what he was doing and must be held accountable under the full force of the… <a href="https://t.co/zvbu5Vf0zg">pic.twitter.com/zvbu5Vf0zg</a>
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) <a href="https://twitter.com/DNIGabbard/status/1923198011108192532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Comey, who was cast out as FBI director by Trump in 2017 and has been critical of the president over the years, drew controversy earlier in the day when he posted the photo of shells arranged to show &#8220;86&#8221; and &#8220;47&#8221; on a beach.
&#8220;Cool shell formation on my beach walk,&#8221; Comey said.
Many people interpreted the photo as referencing assassination because &#8220;86&#8221; is used as slang for kill and Trump is the 47th president. Others have defended Comey, contending that &#8220;86&#8221; could simply mean removal.
Comey deleted the photo and, in a follow-up post, insisted he did not mean to suggest anything drastic.
&#8220;I posted a picture earlier of some shells I saw on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message,&#8221; Comey said. &#8220;I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.&#8221;
Still, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the bureau that Comey once led was looking into the matter.
“We are aware of the recent social media post by former FBI Director James Comey, directed at President Trump. We are in communication with the Secret Service and Director Curran. Primary jurisdiction is with SS on these matters and we, the FBI, will provide all necessary support,” Patel said on X.
People have been arrested and charged for allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-arrests-man-aliakbar-mohammed-amin-for-threats-against-trump-tulsi-gabbard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatening</a> Gabbard and Trump. Last year, during the 2024 campaign, Trump survived two assassination attempts.
Gabbard suggested that Comey should face consequences regardless of what he was thinking.
&#8220;Whatever James Comey&#8217;s intent, he and people like him need to be held to account according to the law, which is something that he claims to have given his life for and stands by the rule of law. Fantastic,&#8221; Gabbard said. &#8220;The rule of law says people like him, who issue direct threats against the president of the United States — essentially issuing a call to assassinate him — must be held accountable under the law.&#8221;

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard Says Comey Should Be Thrown In Jail For ‘86′ Trump Post

General

High-ranking U.S. intelligence officials directed agencies to gather information on Greenland last week as part of President Trump&#8217;s determined effort to acquire the mineral-rich Arctic island.
Several high-ranking officials under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a classified &#8220;collection emphasis message&#8221; to intelligence agency heads last week, instructing them to acquire intel regarding Greenland&#8217;s independence movement and identify people supportive of U.S. objectives, top officials <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/greenland-spying-us-intelligence-809c4ef2?mod=hp_lead_pos1">told</a> The Wall Street Journal.
A &#8220;collection emphasis message&#8221; indicates a high priority objective for intelligence agencies, whose collection resources include surveillance satellites, intercepting electronic communications, and even agents on the ground.
Gabbard gave tacit confirmation of the directive’s existence in a statement admonishing the WSJ, writing: “The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed of aiding deep state actors who seek to undermine the President by politicizing and leaking classified information. They are breaking the law and undermining our nation’s security and democracy.&#8221;
The classified directive, sent to the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, and National Security Agency, marks one of the first tangible moves toward carrying out President Trump&#8217;s desire to acquire the mineral-rich, geopolitically significant territory.
National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt declined to comment on the leaked intelligence, but did state, “The president has been very clear that the U.S. is concerned about the security of Greenland and the Arctic.”
&#8220;We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we&#8217;re working with everybody involved to try and get it,&#8221; President Trump stated during a March joint address to Congress. &#8220;One way or the other, we&#8217;re going to get it.&#8221;
Vice President JD Vance, then-National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Greenland in March, prompting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/greenlanders-are-angry-and-confused-over-unwanted-u-s-visit-87e701c2">complain</a> of &#8220;completely unacceptable pressure on Greenland.&#8221;
The approximately 836,000 square mile territory is <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/11/24/781598549/greenland-is-not-for-sale-but-it-has-the-rare-earth-minerals-america-wants">estimated</a> to hold roughly a quarter of the world’s rare-earth minerals necessary for various technologies, along <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/greenland-suspends-oil-exploration-because-of-climate-change">with</a> an estimated 17.5 billion undiscovered barrels of oil and 148 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that could strengthen American energy independence.
The intelligence directive comes as the Arctic has become an increasingly <a href="https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/new-cold-war-china-declares-near-arctic-state/">contested</a> geopolitical arena, with China declaring itself a &#8220;near-Arctic state&#8221; and Russia expanding its military presence in the region.
Moscow has reopened Soviet-era Arctic bases and deployed nuclear-capable missiles to its northern territories, while Beijing has invested billions in Arctic infrastructure projects, including <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-pentagon-countered-chinas-designs-on-greenland-11549812296">attempts</a> to finance airports in Greenland that were ultimately blocked by Denmark with U.S. support.
Danish officials have repeatedly rebuffed Trump&#8217;s interest in acquiring the island, with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/denmark-pm-repeats-that-greenland-is-not-sale-2025-02-03/">saying</a> in February: &#8220;Greenland is today a part of the kingdom of Denmark. It is part of our territory, and it&#8217;s not for sale.&#8221;
However, some Greenlandic independence advocates have expressed increasing openness to stronger ties with the United States in recent months.
One resident told the New York Post in March, “I think we need change here in Greenland. We are tired of the Danish colonialism,” <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/03/27/us-news/trumps-greenlandic-supporters-lean-away-from-denmark-aim-to-build-us-ties-make-greenland-great-again/">said</a> Lars Kleist, a Greenlandic Inuit who said he lost his job in 2020 because of his pro-independence views. “When you enter the town, everything is ruled by the Danish,” who are only 10% of the population.
As such, the intelligence directive specifically instructed agencies to assess Greenland&#8217;s political landscape and identify local leaders who might be receptive to American overtures, according to sources familiar with the order.

U.S. Intelligence Agencies Directed To Spy On Greenland As Trump Mulls Takeover

Greenland

National Security Agency (NSA)

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