The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) has released previously classified transcripts from 2019 closed-door briefings with then-Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) Michael Atkinson, providing new details about the whistleblower complaint that led to President Donald Trump’s first impeachment.
The transcripts, declassified Monday after being withheld for more than seven years, were made public following a vote by the committee in late March 2026 and subsequent action by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
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.
Today, we reveal the truth 👇… pic.twitter.com/oLXW5nqi2n
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) April 13, 2026
Investigative reporter Catherine Herridge first reported on the release on X, sharing images of the documents and excerpts from the testimony.
The records show that the whistleblower identified in the complaint was a registered Democrat and acknowledged having a “prior professional relationship with one of the Democratic Presidential candidates” in the 2020 election cycle.
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The context of the disclosure has been widely understood to refer to then-former Vice President Joe Biden, based on the whistleblower’s background in Ukraine-related policy matters.
Despite that disclosure, Atkinson told lawmakers during a 2019 briefing that he did not determine the whistleblower to be biased.
“I did not find the complainant (whistleblower) was biased,” Atkinson said in the transcript.
His assessment relied largely on the whistleblower’s own statements regarding impartiality.
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The transcripts also detail that the whistleblower had contact with staff members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence before submitting the formal complaint to the ICIG on August 12, 2019.
NEW RECORDS VIA @DNIGabbard @RepRickCrawford ATKINSON TRANSCRIPTS
– First Trump Impeachment + Whistleblower Motive
Whistleblower met with Democrats on House Intelligence Committee (then led by Adam Schiff) BEFORE reporting his allegations to the Intelligence Community… pic.twitter.com/x7A1IxHLLO
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) April 13, 2026
At the time, the committee was chaired by Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California.
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The timeline outlined in the documents places President Trump’s July 25, 2019, phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 18 days before the complaint was filed.
During that period, the whistleblower had interactions with congressional staff that were not disclosed on official forms.
According to the transcript, the whistleblower did not indicate prior contact with congressional intelligence committees on the “urgent concern” disclosure form.
During questioning by then-Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas, who now serves as CIA Director, Atkinson confirmed the omission.
When asked, “The whistleblower did not disclose to you that he or she had contact with HPSCI?” Atkinson responded, “The answer to that is yes. The answer to that is yes.”
The declassified pages include exchanges from an October 2019 closed-door session, with portions of the testimony highlighted in the materials shared publicly.
The whistleblower complaint centered on allegations that President Trump pressured Zelensky during the July 25 call to investigate the Biden family in connection with U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
The complaint became the basis for a House impeachment inquiry launched in September 2019.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump in December 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The Senate acquitted him in February 2020.
At the time of the impeachment proceedings, the whistleblower was described by Democratic lawmakers and much of the media as a nonpartisan intelligence official acting in good faith.
The newly released transcripts indicate that questions regarding political affiliation, potential conflicts of interest, and prior contact with congressional staff were raised during the closed-door briefings but were not made public.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas addressed the release of the documents in a statement.
“There have been many questions and concerns about these Atkinson transcripts, which have been withheld from the American public for far too long,” Crawford said.
“I hope that the release of these transcripts allows the American people to make their own determinations about their content. Thank you to Director Gabbard and her team for moving these so quickly through the declassification process.”
The declassification provides a more detailed account of the internal discussions that took place during the early stages of the impeachment inquiry and adds new information about how the whistleblower complaint was handled by intelligence officials and Congress at the time.
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