Tulsi Gabbard, identified in the release as Director of National Intelligence, has asked the Justice Department to open investigations into two former government officials tied to President Trump’s first impeachment inquiry.
Gabbard’s office confirmed she prepared criminal referrals for the anonymous whistleblower who filed the 2019 complaint and for former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson. The statement did not specify what crimes were alleged. Whether the Justice Department opens an investigation after a referral is a separate prosecutorial decision.
The referrals follow Gabbard’s public criticism of Atkinson’s handling of the 2019 complaint and her release of a set of documents connected to him. The whistleblower submitted an “urgent concern” alleging that President Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate then-Vice President Joe Biden and raised questions about how records of the Trump–Zelenskyy call were handled and about the role of Rudy Giuliani in U.S.–Ukraine matters.
In the complaint, the whistleblower wrote that they had “received information from multiple U.S. Government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election,” adding that the interference included pressuring a foreign government to investigate a leading political rival.
The House impeached Mr. Trump in late 2019; the Senate acquitted him in early 2020. Mr. Trump has denied wrongdoing and characterized his call with Zelenskyy as “perfect.”
Gabbard posted on X accusing “deep state actors” in the intelligence community of creating a false narrative used by Congress in the impeachment, and said the inspector general relied on “second-hand evidence.” The documents Gabbard released do not show direct evidence of criminal conduct.
Atkinson was removed from his post by Mr. Trump in 2020; after his dismissal he said he had faithfully carried out his duties without partisan influence. Atkinson and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Fox News first reported the referral.
The referrals are part of a broader push by Gabbard and others to revisit disputes from Mr. Trump’s first term. Last year her office released files related to the intelligence community’s review of Russian interference in the 2016 election, calling them evidence of a “treasonous conspiracy” by Biden-era officials and saying she would forward the materials to the Justice Department. Several people involved in the Russia investigation, including former CIA Director John Brennan, have been subpoenaed in a separate federal probe in Florida; no charges have been filed.
House Intelligence Committee top Democrat Rep. Jim Himes criticized Gabbard’s action and defended the 2019 whistleblower, saying the official showed courage and principle by exposing what Himes called Mr. Trump’s efforts to extort Ukraine and smear an opponent. Himes warned the referral would likely produce no misconduct findings but could chill future whistleblowers from coming forward to Congress.