U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced her first major move since her confirmation last month, drawing enthusiastic reactions from MAGA supporters and garnering appreciation from some of her affected colleagues.
As noted previously by Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, key aspects of President Donald Trump’s agenda have been hampered by federal bureaucrats pursuing their own interests. This obstruction was evident during last month’s failed immigration raid in Los Angeles, when leaks from internal government sources to the city’s largest newspaper jeopardized the operation and put the lives of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officers at risk.
Now, Gabbard is turning the tables on the “deep state.” She stated that in the coming weeks, the national intelligence community will be “aggressively pursuing” leaks within the executive branch. Conservative reporter Eric Daugherty noted that the transgressions identified so far include leakers passing information to the Huffington Post, details about Israel-Iran relations to the Washington Post, and sensitive U.S.-Russia issues to NBC News.
“That ends now. We know of and are aggressively pursuing recent leakers from within the Intelligence Community and will hold them accountable,” the former Democratic congresswoman said in a statement. Earlier this month, Noem announced that some leakers had already been identified. While she did not reveal their whereabouts, Tom Homan, the White House’s lead immigration liaison, suggested that evidence pointed to the FBI.
“We have identified criminal leakers within @DHSgov and are preparing to refer these perpetrators to the @TheJusticeDept for felony prosecutions. These individuals face up to 10 years in federal prison. We will find and root out all leakers. They will face prison time & we will get justice for the American people,” said the post that contained Noem’s short video clip.
Earlier Noem announced that some individuals responsible for leaking information about immigration enforcement operations have been identified and are facing termination. “I have found some leakers,” Noem said. “We are continuing to get more. They will be fired and there will be consequences.” Noem stated that her agency employed “every tactic” to identify the leakers, including polygraph tests and a thorough review of communications such as emails. She emphasized that their actions endangered law enforcement personnel and compromised national security.
