WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard raising serious concerns about the handling of an urgent whistleblower complaint and the unprecedented withholding of an underlying intelligence report from congressional oversight committees.

In their letter, Warner and Himes noted that the Intelligence Community Inspector General transmitted the whistleblower complaint to Congress more than nine months after it was filed, citing delays within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The lawmakers also highlighted that, despite clear statutory requirements, the whistleblower has still not received required guidance on how to securely communicate with Congress.

The lawmakers further raised concerns about access to the underlying intelligence report, writing: “Furthermore, upon reviewing the complaint, members of the Gang of Eight requested to view the underlying intelligence report referenced in the complaint itself. We were subsequently informed by your office that the IC is unable to provide the unredacted underlying intelligence report ‘due to the assertion of executive privilege.’ This response and assertion of privilege over this type of intelligence report is unprecedented. The request and provision of intelligence reports have been longstanding practice between the IC and its congressional oversight committees.”

Warner and Himes added, “Moreover, it is not clear how this intelligence report could implicate executive privilege, which typically protects the deliberation and communications of the President and his senior advisors. We are aware of recent press reporting that alleges the underlying intelligence involves discussions about the President’s son-in-law, Mr. Jared Kushner, but since the underlying intelligence report has not been made available to Congress and because the complaint itself was heavily redacted, we cannot confirm the accuracy of such allegations. However, we would note that if these reports were true, Mr. Kushner is not serving as a senior administration official and so there is no colorable argument that executive privilege could apply in this instance. Moreover, as you are well aware, the names of U.S. persons are routinely masked in disseminated intelligence reporting.”

They also questioned the basis for the privilege claim, asking whether “the President assert[ed] executive privilege over the underlying intelligence report,” and, “if so, when did he assert such privilege and on what basis.” If the President did not assert privilege, they requested clarity on “who asserted the privilege, when was it asserted, and what was the basis for that assertion.”

The letter concludes with a request that, if no valid claim of privilege exists, the relevant agency “provide the requested report to the Gang of 8 immediately,” and that the complainant be given “security guidance… so that the complainant is able to meet with the appropriate committees as afforded by the law.”

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

February 24, 2026

The Honorable Tulsi Gabbard

Director of National Intelligence

1500 Tysons McLean Drive

Mclean, VA 22102

Dear Director Gabbard:

As you are aware, on February 2, 2026, the Intelligence Community (IC) Inspector General (IG) made available to the “Gang of Eight” an urgent concern whistleblower complaint that had been filed over nine months earlier in May 2025. According to the accompanying letter from the IC IG, the transmission of this complaint to Congress was delayed because, among a variety of other reasons, you claimed the then-Acting General Counsel, Mr. Charles Newman, “had never informed [you] of the outstanding requirement” for providing security guidance. Concerningly, we understand that you still have not provided the complainant with security guidance as required under 50 U.S.C. § 3033(k)(5)(D)(ii). This provision clearly states that even if the IC IG does not find a complaint to be credible, the Director must still provide the complainant, through the IC IG, “direction on how to contact the congressional intelligence committees in accordance with appropriate security practices.”

Furthermore, upon reviewing the complaint, members of the Gang of Eight requested to view the underlying intelligence report referenced in the complaint itself. We were subsequently informed by your office that the IC is unable to provide the unredacted underlying intelligence report “due to the assertion of executive privilege.” This response and assertion of privilege over this type of intelligence report is unprecedented. The request and provision of intelligence reports have been longstanding practice between the IC and its congressional oversight committees.

Moreover, it is not clear how this intelligence report could implicate executive privilege, which typically protects the deliberation and communications of the President and his senior advisors. We are aware of recent press reporting  that alleges the underlying intelligence involves discussions about the President’s son-in-law, Mr. Jared Kushner, but since the underlying intelligence report has not been made available to Congress and because the complaint itself was heavily redacted, we cannot confirm the accuracy of such allegations. However, we would note that if these reports were true, Mr. Kushner is not serving as a senior administration official and so there is no colorable argument that executive privilege could apply in this instance. Moreover, as you are well aware, the names of U.S. persons are routinely masked in disseminated intelligence reporting. 

In light of these facts, we request your response to the following questions:

1. Did the President assert executive privilege over the underlying intelligence report? 
2. If so, when did he assert such privilege and on what basis?
3. If not, who asserted the privilege, when was it asserted, and what was the basis for that assertion?

If there was no assertion of privilege, we request that you instruct the relevant agency to provide the requested report to the Gang of 8 immediately.  Additionally, we wish to request that pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 3033(k)(5)(D), you provide security guidance to the complainant through the IC IG so that the complainant is able to meet with the appropriate committees as afforded by the law.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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