NSA Detected Foreign Call About Trump Associate Gabbard Blocked

Last spring, the National Security Agency detected a phone call between two foreign intelligence operatives discussing a person close to Donald Trump. Rather than following standard protocol to distribute the intelligence report, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard delivered a paper copy directly to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and subsequently instructed the NSA to transmit the classified details to her office instead of publishing the report.

On April 17, a whistleblower contacted the inspector general alleging that Gabbard blocked the classified intelligence from routine distribution. The whistleblower filed a formal complaint on May 21 detailing Gabbard’s actions. The NSA does not monitor individuals without justification, and the person discussed in the call is not understood to be an administration official or special government employee, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The intelligence community inspector general dismissed the complaint after a 14-day review on June 6, stating the office “could not determine if the allegations appear credible.” The watchdog’s independence may be compromised after Gabbard assigned one of her top advisers, Dennis Kirk—a co-author of Project 2025 and a first Trump administration official—to work in the inspector general’s office on May 9, two weeks after the whistleblower’s initial contact.

For eight months, the complaint remained classified and withheld from congressional intelligence committees, violating the law requiring agencies to relay whistleblower complaints to Congress within 21 days. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner stated the months-long delay reflected an effort to “bury the complaint.” Members of the “gang of eight” received a heavily redacted version on Tuesday night, with much of the complaint withheld under claims of executive privilege—a move Gabbard’s attorney said flags presidential involvement in the underlying intelligence concerns.

Gabbard’s office denied all allegations, stating “every single action taken by DNI Gabbard was fully within her legal and statutory authority.” House Oversight Committee Democrat Stephen Lynch warned that Kirk’s appointment raised “troubling questions about the independence” of the intelligence community inspector general’s office, compromising the agency’s ability to serve as an independent watchdog against weaponization of intelligence for political purposes.

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/07/nsa-foreign-intelligence-trump-whistleblower)