Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released newly declassified testimony that she alleges shows a “coordinated effort” by the intelligence community to “manufacture a conspiracy” used as the basis of President Donald Trump first impeachment.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Monday released two declassified transcripts from closed-door House Intelligence Committee hearings that Gabbard’s office says show former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson advanced as credible a whistleblower complaint based on secondhand information from an individual who had previously worked with then-Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine. Gabbard’s office argued that, based on this and other testimony, Atkinson’s actions “weaponize[d] the whistleblower process and exceed[ed] his statutory jurisdiction.”
Atkinson’s investigation helped trigger the first impeachment of Trump by advancing what he deemed a “credible” whistleblower complaint regarding a July 2019 phone call between the president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson “did not follow standard IG procedures and relied upon politicized, manufactured narratives” while investigating the whistleblower claim that ultimately led to Trump’s 2019 impeachment, Gabbard’s office said Monday.
GABBARD UNAWARE OF FBI PROBE INTO JOE KENT BEFORE RESIGNATION, OFFICIAL SAYS
Gabbard, citing previously classified House testimony by Atkinson, said the former inspector general “aggressively advanced” his preliminary probe while relying on secondhand testimony and what she described as politicized witnesses. Gabbard’s office also charged that Atkinson “never conducted a formal or complete investigation.”
“In his own words, IC IG Atkinson recognizes that his conclusions were based on a ‘preliminary investigation,’ noting that ‘I haven’t done an investigation to determine whether they actually, in fact, took place … that all of the alleged actions actually took place,’” according to the statement from Gabbard.
Under federal law, the inspector general’s preliminary role is to determine whether a whistle-blower complaint “appears credible,” rather than to fully investigate or substantiate the underlying allegations. Atkinson did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The testimony reveals that Atkinson was aware that the primary whistleblower, whose identity has still not been officially disclosed, was a “registered Democrat” and had alerted staff on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence before submitting their “Disclosure of Urgent Concern” form, Gabbard’s office said.
The whistleblower also admitted having “worked closely with Vice President Biden” and “travelled with Biden to Ukraine and was part of conversations where LUTSENKO corruption was discussed,” according to the DNI release. Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraine’s prosecutor general from 2016 to 2019, was the official who inherited and closed the Burisma investigation and was subsequently courted by Hunter Biden-linked lobbyists seeking to facilitate connections between the Ukrainian government and Democratic political circles, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Gabbard also accused Atkinson of ignoring any bias, highlighting testimony in which he said, “I also want to make it clear that I never considered the whistleblower to be politically biased.”
The office said that on the initial form submitted by the whistleblower, they admitted, “I do not have direct knowledge of private comments or communications” by Trump. Notably, whistleblower laws do not require a whistleblower to provide first-hand information, according to the National Whistleblower Center.
Gabbard’s office said one of the “key” witnesses Atkinson relied on to corroborate the whistleblower’s report during his preliminary investigation was also a co-author of the controversial 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian collusion that Gabbard has previously said was instigated at the direction of former President Barack Obama.
JAMES CLAPPER, JOHN BRENNAN HIT BACK AT TRUMP ALLEGATIONS ABOUT RUSSIA PROBE AS ‘PATENTLY FALSE’
Gabbard, herself a former Democrat, accused Atkinson of having “failed to uphold his responsibility to the American people, putting political motivations over the truth.”
“Deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that was used by Congress to usurp the will of the American people and impeach the duly-elected President of the United States,” said Gabbard. “And this, along with the politicization of the whistleblower process by a former CIA employee who was working hand in glove with Democrats in Congress, are egregious examples of the deep state playbook on how to weaponize the Intelligence Community.”
She added that “exposing these tactics and showing how they undermine the fabric of our democratic republic furthers the critical cause of transparency and accountability and will help prevent future abuse of power.”
Democratic lawmakers largely dismissed the disclosures from Gabbard, framing the declassification as an attempt by the DNI to win favor from Trump.
“This is a nothingburger — just another sad attempt by Tulsi Gabbard to get in Donald Trump’s good graces,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Politico’s NatSec Daily newsletter.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, also criticized the declassification on X.
“Everyone can read the transcript of Trump’s phone call to extort President Zelenskyy for dirt on Biden. That was an impeachable offense, and no amount of dust kicking and sycophancy can obscure it,” Himes wrote. “Had Joe Biden made that call, Republicans would have burned the place down.”
Fox News Digital reached out to House and Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats for additional comment.
Gabbard claims ‘coordinated effort’ by intelligence community to advance narrative to impeach Trump 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2026-04-13 23:25:32 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
