Tulsi Gabbard Defends Her Presence At Fbi Search Of Georgia Elections Hub

WASHINGTON — Tulsi Gabbard connected Monday defended her beingness astatine an FBI hunt of an predetermination center successful Fulton County, Georgia, that has raised questions astir her involvement arsenic head of nationalist intelligence.

In a missive to nan apical Democrats connected nan House and Senate intelligence committees, Gabbard said she was astatine nan halfway past week successful keeping pinch U.S. rule and her responsibilities arsenic nan country’s apical intelligence official.

Gabbard stood by her determination not to little lawmakers astir intelligence connected imaginable threats to predetermination information earlier her travel to Georgia, saying she would not “irresponsibly stock incomplete assessments.”

“I will stock our intelligence assessments pinch Congress erstwhile they are complete,” she wrote.

Gabbard went connected to opportunity she had wide authority arsenic nan head of nationalist intelligence to oversee efforts to guarantee U.S. elections are unafraid and to place and analyse immoderate imaginable overseas threats to elections aliases voting systems. In her letter, she acknowledged that she had arranged a telephone pinch FBI unit and President Donald Trump.

Gabbard wrote that she placed a telephone successful Fulton County to let Trump to definitive his gratitude to nan FBI agents who conducted nan search.

“He did not inquire immoderate questions, nor did he aliases I rumor immoderate directives,” Gabbard wrote.

Two sources confirmed nan telephone telephone to NBC News connected Monday. One root said Trump did not reply initially but yet called backmost and concisely said pinch nan agents, including nan supervisory supplier connected nan case.

The New York Times was first to report nan call.

Gabbard said nan agency of wide counsel astatine nan Office of nan Director of National Intelligence recovered her actions “to beryllium accordant and good wrong my statutory authorities arsenic nan Director of National Intelligence.”

Monday's missive — Gabbard's first nonstop comments astir her actions successful Georgia, which person faced disapproval arsenic inappropriate successful a home matter — comes a time aft Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said "I don't cognize why" she was astatine nan FBI's search.

“She is not portion of nan expansive assemblage investigation, but she is, for sure, a cardinal portion of our efforts astatine predetermination integrity and making judge that we person free and adjacent elections," Blanche said connected CNN. "She’s an master successful that space, and it’s a large portion of what she and her squad look astatine each day.”

Blanche besides said Sunday that he did not judge Trump was progressive successful nan raid, overseen by nan FBI and Justice Department. Trump had antecedently told reporters that national agents “got into nan votes. ... You’re going to spot immoderate absorbing things happening.”

On Friday, Blanche noted that Gabbard “doesn’t activity for nan Department of Justice aliases nan FBI,” but he said her beingness successful Georgia is “something that shouldn’t astonishment anybody.”

The Georgia raid was related to records from nan 2020 statesmanlike election; Fulton County officials person announced plans to writer nan Trump management complete nan matter. Gabbard's beingness drew scrutiny from nationalist information experts, and it has raised questions astir whether Gabbard, who was excluded from nan cognition that led to nan seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was seeking relevance successful Trump’s eyes.

It would beryllium highly different for a head of nationalist intelligence to travel FBI agents connected a raid. In her role, Gabbard oversees nan country’s spy agencies and is barred from taking portion successful home rule enforcement.

An charismatic astatine nan Office of Director of National Intelligence told NBC News connected Monday that Trump requested that Gabbard spell to Fulton County and that national rule gives nan personification successful Gabbard's position nan domiciled of starring counterintelligence efforts related to predetermination information and analyzing overseas interference. The FBI’s intelligence and counterintelligence divisions autumn nether Gabbard’s authority arsenic nationalist intelligence head overseeing nan country’s 18 intelligence agencies, nan charismatic said.

FBI headquarters, arsenic good arsenic nan FBI Atlanta section office, declined to comment.