Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department targeting two former officials central to the first impeachment of President Donald Trump.
The referrals involve the unnamed whistleblower and former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who landed the 2019 complaint regarding a phone call with Ukraine’s president.
Gabbard alleged on X that newly declassified records “expose how deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that Congress used to usurp the will of the American people and impeach duly-elected President @realDonaldTrump in 2019.”
An ODNI spokesperson confirmed the move stating the referral aims “to refer information that may constitute possible criminal activity in violation of federal criminal law committed by one or more former employees.”
The 2019 complaint had alleged Trump used his office “to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 US election.”
While Gabbard argues the impeachment was a manufactured conspiracy, critics like Re. Jim Himes claim the referral is a political tactic that “will do is chill future whistleblowers from coming forward.”
The Justice Department must now decide whether to pursue a formal investigation into the matter.
