Tulsi Gabbard Sends Referrals on ‘Deep State Criminals’ Over Anti-Trump Leaks

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has formally referred two intelligence officials to the Department of Justice for allegedly leaking classified information to media outlets, with a third referral expected soon.

The individuals, whose identities have not been publicly disclosed, are accused of providing unauthorized intelligence to The Washington Post and The New York Times, a senior official at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed to Fox News Digital.

DNI @TulsiGabbard is the nightmare for Deep State warmongers and leakers of sensitive information. pic.twitter.com/EPiBZdgPiC

— Tulsi For President🌺 (@TulsiPotus) April 24, 2025

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In a statement released as news of the referrals surfaced, Gabbard said the intelligence community must be held accountable for politically motivated leaks.

“Politicization of our intelligence and leaking classified information puts our nation’s security at risk and must end,” she said.

“Those who leak classified information will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

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Gabbard went on to state that “deep state criminals leaked classified information for partisan political purposes to undermine President Trump’s agenda,” adding that she looks forward to working with both the Department of Justice and the FBI to “investigate, terminate, and prosecute these criminals.”

🚨 #BREAKING: Tulsi Gabbard has just referred MULTIPLE intel leakers to the DOJ for criminal prosecution

“These deep-state criminals leaked classified information for partisan political purposes to undermine President Trump’s agenda.”

LOCK THEM UP! SET AN EXAMPLE @AGPamBondi! pic.twitter.com/CiSfsnqMWu

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 23, 2025

The referrals come just weeks after Gabbard announced the formation of a new internal task force aimed at rooting out unauthorized disclosures of intelligence.

Axios previously reported that one leak under review involved classified details concerning Israel and Iran that were shared with The Washington Post.

Following an internal review, the ODNI submitted the criminal referral to the Department of Justice, which is expected to pass the matter to the FBI for a formal criminal investigation.

“We are aggressively investigating other leaks and will pursue further criminal referrals as warranted,” a source inside the office said.

“Any intelligence community bureaucrat who is considering leaking to the media should take this as a warning.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Defense is also conducting its own internal investigation into unauthorized disclosures, which has already resulted in the firing of three senior officials last week: Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick, top adviser Dan Caldwell, and Colin Carroll, Chief of Staff to Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg. Caldwell and Selnick were reportedly escorted from the Pentagon.

In a joint statement following their dismissal, the trio said they were “incredibly disappointed by the manner in which our service at the Department of Defense ended,” and criticized what they described as “baseless attacks” on their character.

Caldwell, a former military officer, told Tucker Carlson in a televised interview that he believed the investigation was “weaponized” against him due to internal policy disagreements.

He denied leaking any classified information.

“We were threatening a lot of established interests in our own separate ways and we had people who had personal vendettas against us,” Caldwell said.

“I think they weaponized the investigation against us.”

He also claimed there was a bipartisan effort within Washington to push for military action against Iran, which he opposed.

Selnick and Carroll are reportedly preparing to file wrongful termination lawsuits, Politico reported.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended the investigation, saying the leak probe was initiated after disclosures about sensitive topics such as U.S. military planning in the Panama Canal region and Elon Musk’s visit to the Pentagon.

Hegseth said the investigation led to “unfortunate places” involving people he had previously worked with.

“If those people are exonerated, fantastic,” Hegseth told Fox News.

“We don’t think — based on what we understand — that it’s going to be a good day for a number of those individuals because of what was found in the investigation.”

Hegseth himself is now under scrutiny after reports revealed he shared details of a U.S. foreign military operation in a private Signal group chat with his wife, brother, and personal attorney.

The White House and Hegseth did not deny the report but insisted no classified material was disclosed and characterized the coverage as politically motivated.

President Donald Trump weighed in Monday, dismissing the accusations as a distraction. “It’s just fake news. They just bring up stories,” Trump said.

“He was put there to get rid of a lot of bad people, and that’s what he’s doing.”

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