Federal investigators are examining whether Democratic members or staff tied to the Senate Intelligence Committee improperly disclosed classified information connected to an intercepted communication involving current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened an investigation into potential classified leaks connected to Democratic members and staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee following a criminal referral submitted by the National Security Agency, according to a report from Just the News.
The investigation reportedly centers in part on the disclosure of intelligence gathered through a National Security Agency intercept involving two Hezbollah-linked figures during the confirmation process for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard earlier this year.
According to the report, the NSA submitted the criminal referral last summer after media stories — including a New York Times article — referenced details from a classified overseas intercept involving Hezbollah operatives discussing Gabbard’s 2017 trip to Syria.
The report stated the intercepted conversation included references to Gabbard allegedly meeting with the “big guy,” which some interpreted as a reference to a senior Hezbollah figure. Gabbard strongly denied ever meeting with Hezbollah leadership.
According to sources cited by Just the News, NSA officials concluded the leaked reporting accurately reflected information contained in one of the agency’s classified intercepts but determined that Gabbard had not met with Hezbollah leaders.
The agency reportedly identified potential leakers among Democratic staff members on the Senate Intelligence Committee who had access to the intercept before the media reports were published.
Sources told the outlet the criminal referral remained largely dormant inside the Justice Department for months until FBI Director Kash Patel became aware of the matter several weeks ago.
Since then, FBI counterintelligence agents and criminal investigators have reportedly accelerated the inquiry and broadened it to include additional potential unauthorized disclosures and contacts between media organizations and committee-affiliated Democrats.
The investigation is part of a broader Trump administration effort targeting unauthorized disclosures of classified material.
Over the past 15 months, federal leak investigations have led to multiple prosecutions involving current and former government officials. Among those cases were investigations involving former National Security Advisor John Bolton and a former Army employee charged last month with leaking classified information to a journalist.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has previously faced scrutiny over unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information.
In 2018, the committee became the focus of a major leak investigation involving former Senate security director James Wolfe, who later pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators regarding disclosures of nonpublic information to a reporter.
Neither the FBI nor Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats publicly commented on the reported investigation Thursday.
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