Whistleblower says that Tulsi Gabbard blocked agency from sharing report and delivered it to White House chief of staff

Last spring, the National Security Agency (NSA) detected evidence of an unusual phone call between an individual associated with foreign intelligence and a person close to Donald Trump, according to a whistleblower’s attorney briefed on the existence of the call.

The highly sensitive communique, which has roiled Washington over the past week, was brought to the attention of the director of national intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard – but rather than allowing NSA officials to distribute the information further, she took a paper copy of the intelligence directly to the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, the attorney, Andrew Bakaj, said.

One day after meeting Wiles, Gabbard told the NSA not to publish the intelligence report. Instead, she instructed NSA officials to transmit the highly classified details directly to her office.

Details of this exchange between Gabbard and the NSA were shared directly with the Guardian and have not been previously reported. Nor has Wiles receipt of the intelligence report.

  • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    20 hours ago

    We should ask how three-letter intelligence agencies usually deal with uncovered treasonous moles and saboteurs.

  • HumanOnEarth@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    42
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    The one probably naive hope that I’m hanging onto: that it’s so fucking obvious how compromised this government is, there are enough good people in high enough positions that they will end this at some point.

    • archonet@lemy.lol
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      24
      ·
      edit-2
      1 day ago

      I do not believe in any deus ex machina coming in and saving the day, not at this point – but you’d better believe someone is going to hang for the multitude of crimes being undertaken by this administration, up to and including high treason, once the dust settles and actual adults are back in charge.

      This administration hasn’t just been doing a bad job, they’ve been doing a deliberately awful job; kneecapping our global soft power in almost every way possible across multiple fronts (the killing off of global aid, our intelligence being leakier than a sieve, hostility towards allies, etc.) in a way that will affect the prospects of the country for generations, in almost exactly the way a hostile foreign power would want them to. People this stupid (don’t tell me they’re all evil geniuses, there’s a couple evil geniuses mixed in with a whole smorgasboard of evil morons), perpetrating this many crimes all at once, leave lots of evidence of their stupid crimes – there will be too much evidence to not convict someone of something. Probably a lot of someones.

      whether the someone(s) that hang are the same someone(s) responsible is what determines whether this bullshit continues to be a cancerous growth on our government or not.

      • hitmyspot@aussie.zone
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        1 day ago

        Well, that’s what was hoped for with Bidens term. Yet nothing really happened.

        People still operate under the assumption of good faith. Its completely ridiculous to be that naive at this point.

        • archonet@lemy.lol
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          12
          ·
          edit-2
          1 day ago

          I didn’t say “the next term”, though, I said “when the dust settles and adults are back in charge.”

          That might be ten, fifteen, twenty years from now – but there are young men in this administration committing crimes right now whose impacts will still be felt years down the line, it’s not just the ancient orange fuckwit; and those men will likely still be alive if nobody has doled out mob justice to them in the intervening years.

          I have no idea who will survive that long, not in this powder keg; and justice delayed is justice denied. But conversely, someday, these morons are not going to be in power, nor their cronies or their controlled opposition, and it might just happen in our lifetimes if we work for it. And me, personally, I really want to see Stephen Miller’s face when he’s sentenced, even if seeing his corpse would be satisfactory.

    • wagesj45@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      1 day ago

      I don’t believe it at all, but I will still hope it. Hope you get to rub it in my face some day lol.

    • orbitz@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 day ago

      Mean this term is worse but if that was possible it would have happened before the end of the first one I assume, the world watched Trump looking like he was Putin’s dog at … Well whatever conference that was. Assume it was a bad employee review. Now this administration has axed everyone that has so much as a raised eyebrow to their actions and doesn’t want to gargle that baby carrot.

      In the end I don’t think there’s any saving except by the American citizens in some action. Least before it gets much worse on a world stage. Beyond alienating allies and doing his tariff quick attack which seems to be the standard ‘attack other countries that include nato when they don’t say yes’.

      Kind of like an abuser would do huh…and Trump has only been named 38k times in the released Epstein files from pages that aren’t completely blacked out? I’m sure it’s just a coincidence…the sound of your tub draining is the same one American democracy is doing as it’s sucked into his bank account.

    • mlg@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      29
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 day ago

      After Snowden, I assume they beefed up security and scrutiny.

      And considering that their counter offer to Snowden requesting a public trial was that he won’t be tortured if he returns, I doubt anyone would want to take the risk.

  • SGforce@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 day ago

    Is Steve Bannon still considered “close”? Cause that motherfucker is connected to the worst people alive today.