National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard blindsided the Central Intelligence Agency last week by naming an undercover officer on a list of 37 officials stripped of security clearances.
She posted the memo on Aug. 19 at the direction of President Donald Trump, sharing it on X with her more than 762,000 followers. The list targeted people who supported Trump’s first impeachment or worked on issues like Russian interference and foreign election meddling.
Among those listed was a senior CIA officer still working undercover—a detail Gabbard either didn’t know or didn’t care to confirm. According to The Wall Street Journal, Gabbard didn’t “meaningfully consult” the agency before going public, giving the CIA little warning and no chance to weigh in
Instead, her office sent the list to the agency the night before the release, practically making damage inevitable. According to people familiar with the matter, the CIA had no advance notice that Gabbard would post the names online, including that of a covert officer.
The blunder threatens to deepen tensions between the two top intelligence shops. Larry Pfeiffer, a former CIA chief of staff, told the Journal that any “smart” DNI would have cleared the move with the agency first.
“It could potentially put CIA cover procedures at risk. It could put relations with foreign governments at risk,” he said.
Others were even less diplomatic. Brian Fiarchil, a retired CIA operations officer, blasted Gabbard on X as a “Trump lapdog” who knows nothing about intelligence and “will do anything to stay” in the president’s good graces.
Notably, this dust-up was not the first between Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. In July, Gabbard declassified a report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election that the CIA wanted more heavily redacted, arguing that it exposed sensitive sources and methods. But Gabbard ignored those concerns and did it anyway.
And now with a covert officer’s cover blown, the CIA is scrambling to contain the fallout while avoiding open war with Trump’s handpicked DNI.
“Director Ratcliffe and the President’s entire elite national security team are committed to eradicating the politicization of intelligence and are focused on executing President Trump’s national security priorities, and keeping the American people safe,” CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons said.
Gabbard has come a long way from her days as a Democratic representative from Hawaii, but her recent actions continue to land her in trouble. It’s part of a broader pattern for Gabbard: She’ll do whatever it takes to stay in Trump’s good graces—even if she hurts herself.
Trump was openly annoyed with her when they clashed over Iran’s nuclear program. Then, seemingly to win back his favor, she accused President Barack Obama of treason during the 2016 election, a move critics saw as an attempt to distract from the fallout over the administration’s refusal to release the Epstein files. The clearance memo seemed like more of the same—an exaggerated show of loyalty that instantly backfired.
In her Aug. 19 post, Gabbard claimed to be following Trump’s orders to revoke the clearances, framing it as a crackdown on officials who had politicized or leaked intelligence. Her spokesperson repeated that line to the Journal but, once again, offered no evidence that the affected officials had mishandled classified material.
“Gabbard directed the revocations to ensure individuals who have violated the trust placed in them by weaponizing, politicizing, manipulating, or leaking classified intelligence are no longer allowed to do so,” the spokesperson said.
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The problem is that one of those officials was a seasoned CIA officer with more than 20 years of experience in intelligence, including a stint on the National Intelligence Council as an expert on Russia and Eurasia.
And there’s another wrinkle in Gabbard’s move: Revealing the identity of a covert officer is a felony. Though whether that law applies to a government official is somewhat murky.
Attorney Mark Zaid, who represents intelligence officers and lost his own clearance under Trump, suggested that Gabbard might have broken the law.
“Can you say ‘Privacy Act violation’? I certainly can. Further proof of weaponization and politicization,” he wrote on X. “The vast majority of these individuals are not household names & are dedicated public servants who have worked across multiple presidential administrations.”
Gabbard’s memo was meant to show loyalty to Trump. But instead, all she did was expose a covert officer and make herself look even more reckless.