WASHINGTON – Tulsi Gabbard on Monday defended her participation in the FBI’s raid on an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, which has raised questions about her involvement as director of national intelligence.
In a letter to Democratic leaders on both House and Senate intelligence committees, Gabbard said she was at the center last week to uphold U.S. law and her responsibilities as the country’s top intelligence official.
Gabbard stood by her decision not to brief lawmakers on potential threats to election security ahead of her trip to Georgia, saying she would not “irresponsibly share an incomplete assessment.”
“Once we complete our intelligence assessment, we will share it with Congress,” she wrote.
Gabbard also said that as director of national intelligence, she would oversee efforts to secure U.S. elections and have broad authority to identify and analyze potential foreign threats to elections and voting systems. In her letter, she acknowledged arranging phone calls with FBI officials and President Donald Trump.
Gabbard wrote that President Trump called Fulton County so he could express his gratitude to the FBI agents who conducted the search.
“He asked no questions, and neither he nor I gave any instructions,” Gabbard wrote.
Two sources confirmed this to NBC News over the phone on Monday. One source said Trump did not initially respond, but eventually called back and spoke briefly with investigators, including the director of the case.
The New York Times first reported the call.
Gabbard said the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s Office of General Counsel determined her actions were “consistent and well within my statutory authority as Director of National Intelligence.”
Monday’s letter — Gabbard’s first direct comment on her actions in Georgia, which has come under criticism as inappropriate in a domestic matter — was sent a day after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said she had “no idea why” she was being searched by the FBI.
“Although she is not part of the grand jury investigation, she certainly plays an important role in our efforts to ensure election integrity and free and fair elections,” Blanche said on CNN. “She’s an expert in her field and that’s a big part of what she and her team focus on every day.”
Blanche also said Sunday that he did not believe that Trump was not involved in the raids overseen by the FBI and Justice Department. President Trump previously told reporters that federal agents “interfered with the voting. … Some interesting things are going to happen.”
On Friday, Blanche noted that Gabbard “doesn’t work for the Justice Department or the FBI,” but said her presence in Georgia “shouldn’t surprise anyone.”
The Georgia attack was related to the 2020 presidential election record. Fulton County officials have announced plans to sue the Trump administration over the issue. Gabbard’s presence has drawn scrutiny from national security experts, raising questions about whether she was seeking relevance in Trump’s eyes after being removed from the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
It is highly unusual for the Director of National Intelligence to accompany FBI agents on a raid. In her role, Gabbard oversees the nation’s spy agencies and is prohibited from participating in domestic law enforcement.
Officials with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told NBC News on Monday that President Trump asked Gabbard to go to Fulton County and that federal law mandates someone in Gabbard’s position to lead counterintelligence efforts related to election security and analyze foreign interference. The FBI’s intelligence and counterintelligence divisions fall under Gabbard’s authority as director of national intelligence, which oversees the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies, the official said.
FBI headquarters and the FBI’s Atlanta field office declined to comment.
Contributed by Raquel Coronel Uribe.
