Tulsi Gaba, Director of National Intelligence in the United States, has pledged to take action against intelligence officials who leak information to journalists.
Gabbard supervises 18 spy agencies. She said she would “aggressively chase recent leakers” to hold them accountable for their unauthorized disclosures.
“Politically motivated leaks undermine our nation’s security and the confidence of the American public, and they will not be tolerated,” Gabbard said in a Friday post on X.
Gabbard listed recent examples of what she said were leaks of information concerning Israel-Iran, the U.S.-Russia relationship, and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center to media outlets, including the Huffington Post, The Washington Post, NBC News, and The Record.
Gabbard said, “Any unauthorised release of classified information is a violation of law and will be dealt with accordingly.”
Donald Trump was angry at the media leaks during his first term as Republican President. His administration targeted both federal government sources and journalists.
In an investigation into classified leaks, his administration obtained secret data about members of Congress, their staffers, journalists, and a former White House lawyer. The former Attorney General Merrick Garland was prompted to tighten Department of Justice policy in 2021 regarding the obtaining of records of lawmakers.
Following an uproar about its actions during the Trump-era investigation into leaks, Garland’s Justice Department has changed its policy. It now prohibits prosecutors from subpoenaing journalists’ phone and email records.
The Justice Department’s internal watchdog 2024 found that prosecutors subpoenaed the phone and email records of members of Congress and their staff during Trump’s first term. This decision may have impacted congressional oversight.
