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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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement after the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) retracted and revised 19 intelligence products based on a recommendation from political appointees on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB):

“The strength of the Intelligence Community has always depended on its ability to deliver objective, apolitical analysis, grounded in rigorous tradecraft and insulated from political pressure. That standard must be upheld, and analytic integrity should always be taken seriously, but those judgments must be made by intelligence professionals and not subject to politics.

“The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board plays an important advisory role, but it is not a substitute for the independent analytic judgment of the CIA and the broader Intelligence Community. When a politically appointed body appears to be dictating what analysis is acceptable, it risks eroding confidence in the objectivity of our intelligence.

“Moreover, today’s action does not exist in a vacuum. It is part of a broader and deeply troubling pattern in this administration: sidelining career experts, undermining inconvenient intelligence assessments, and allowing political considerations to override professional judgment. When political appointees appear to dictate what analysis is valid, it threatens the credibility, reliability, and independence of the Intelligence Community itself.

“Congress has a duty to ensure that our intelligence remains independent, rigorous, and free from political interference. Protecting that independence should not be a partisan issue – it is a national security imperative. Our country depends on the Intelligence Community’s ability to provide honest, fearless analysis, even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient for those in power.”

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement on the FBI raid in Fulton County, Georgia:

“There are only two explanations for why the Director of National Intelligence would show up at a federal raid tied to Donald Trump’s obsession with losing the 2020 election. Either Director Gabbard believes there was a legitimate foreign intelligence nexus – in which case she is in clear violation of her obligation under the law to keep the intelligence committees ‘fully and currently informed’ of relevant national security concerns – or she is once again demonstrating her utter lack of fitness for the office that she holds by injecting the nonpartisan intelligence community she is supposed to be leading into a domestic political stunt designed to legitimize conspiracy theories that undermine our democracy. Either is a serious breach of trust that further underscores why she is totally unqualified to hold a position that demands sound judgment, apolitical independence, and a singular focus on keeping Americans safe.”

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WASHINGTON – Today, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Chris Coons (D-DE), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Housing, Banking and Urban Affairs Committee Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Brian Schatz (D-HI) released the following statement after President Trump’s announcement that he plans for the U.S. to “run” Venezuela:

“We strongly condemn President Trump’s announced plans to occupy Venezuela. We have many urgent needs here at home and President Trump’s statement that “we are not afraid of boots on the ground,” begs for clarity on the risks he plans to take with the lives of American service members.  Having lied to Congress and misled the American people about his goals while spending months preparing to capture Maduro, the administration has to come clean with Congress and our nation about its real plans in Venezuela. The American people deserve answers about what vital interests are at stake and how this advances their security, neither of which this administration has provided.”

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement after the Senate passed the annual Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (IAA) as a part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), following passage last week in the House of Representatives. The IAA represents a bipartisan effort by the Senate and House Intelligence Committees to authorize the funding, provide legal authorities, and ensure vigorous congressional oversight of national security threats and our United States Intelligence Community.

“I thank my colleagues and am glad to see this bill pass once again on a strong bipartisan basis. It provides the Intelligence Community the resources it needs to do its mission while ensuring that we maintain rigorous oversight of the IC’s activities. This year’s IAA responds to important concerns, including by demanding continued support and transparency for AHI victims, ensuring IC facilities can be protected from the growing threat of commercial drones, and requiring cyber protections for our electoral systems. At the same time, it readies the IC for the future by promoting IC energy resiliency, enhancing the IC’s ability to detect and counter threats related to emerging biotechnology, and ensuring the IC adopts artificial intelligence in a secure and responsible manner. While I am disappointed that we were unable to reach agreement on a provision to secure our Nation’s telecom infrastructure, I look forward to continuing to work with my Senate colleagues to address the unprecedented Salt Typhoon breach that exposed the personal data and communications of millions of Americans,” said Sen. Warner.

“I’d like to thank my colleagues for supporting this bill and the many members of both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees for building this bill and getting it across the finish line. Since becoming chairman, I have been clear about the need for real reform across the entire intelligence community, starting with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The FY26 IAA will enact many of these reforms, which will mean a more efficient intelligence community and a safer United States. This law also includes many other important provisions to ensure and enhance our nation’s security. These include prohibiting the intelligence community from contracting with Chinese military companies, improving the security of CIA installations, identifying the threat to America’s food security posed by Communist China, and directing necessary resources towards defending our nation from threats posed by Iran. I’m glad this bill passed both houses of Congress as part of the NDAA and I look forward to it being signed into law by the President,” said Sen. Cotton.

The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 will:

• Significantly reform and improve efficiencies and effectiveness within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the broader Intelligence Community;
• Prohibit the Intelligence Community from contracting with Chinese military companies engaged in biotechnology research, development, or manufacturing;
• Improve the Intelligence Community’s artificial intelligence capabilities and capacity and establish guidance for the Intelligence Community’s procurement and use of artificial intelligence;
• Increase transparency to Congress regarding Iran’s enrichment activities, including decisions to weaponize uranium;
• Improve the security of Central Intelligence Agency installations;
• Require the Intelligence Community to develop a plan for sharing biotechnological threats with U.S. agencies, allies, and private-sector partners;
• Require the Director of National Intelligence to identify sites for deployment of advanced nuclear technologies;
• Establish a strategy to support Intelligence Community efforts to acquire and integrate emerging technologies proven to meet mission needs;
• Require any Intelligence Community element with information regarding Iranian lethal threats to United States persons to provide the information to the FBI and to any person responsible for protecting the intended victim;
• Support the Intelligence Community workforce by requiring the Director of National Intelligence to issue standard guidelines for Intelligence Community personnel to document and report Anomalous Health Incidents; 
• Expose the People’s Republic of China’s investments that are undermining America’s agricultural security.
• Mandate an annual Intelligence Community survey of analytic objectivity among each element’s officers and employees, and ensure that analytic training includes instructions on avoiding political bias;
• Mandate Intelligence Community notifications and reporting to ensure greater congressional oversight of the terrorist watchlist or the transnational organized crime watchlist;
• Require the Director of National Intelligence to enhance efforts to counter narcotics trafficking with the Government of Mexico; and
• Promote transparency by requiring the Director of National Intelligence to conduct a declassification review and publish intelligence relating to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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WASHINGTON – Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued a statement after an investigation by the Department of Defense’s (DoD) independent watchdog found that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth violated DoD policy and endangered the lives of Virginia-based pilots by sharing classified information over an unsecure personal group chat:

“An objective, evidence-based investigation by the Pentagon’s internal watchdog leaves no doubt: Secretary Hegseth endangered the lives of American pilots based aboard the USS Harry S. Truman as they prepared to launch a mission against terrorist targets. By sharing classified operational details on an unsecure group chat on his personal phone, he created unacceptable risks to their safety and to our operational security.

“The report also notes that the IG is aware of several other Signal chats Hegseth used for official business, underscoring that this was not an isolated lapse. It reflects a broader pattern of recklessness and poor judgment from a secretary who has repeatedly shown he is in over his head.

“Our servicemembers, including those stationed in Virginia and around the world, expect and deserve leaders who honor the sacrifices they make every day to protect our nation and never put them at unnecessary risk. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Pete Hegseth should resign, or the president must remove him at once.”

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WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate warning that the United States faces a deepening threat to our security as the Trump administration continues a sweeping political purge of the FBI, dismantles America’s cyber defenses, and hollow outs the institutions responsible for protecting the homeland. Today’s remarks follow a September address in which Warner outlined concerns with the growing politicization of intelligence under the Trump administration.

In his speech today – “A Deepening Threat: How Politicizing Intelligence Endangers Our National Security” – Warner detailed how thousands of FBI agents and senior leaders have been forced out for political reasons, including the heads of the Bureau’s counterterrorism, intelligence, cyber, and critical incident response units. He warned that these purges, combined with the unprecedented reassignment of 25 to 45 percent of FBI agents working counterterrorism, cyber, espionage, and child exploitation cases to President Trump’s immigration roundups, have sharply reduced the Bureau’s ability to prevent attacks, disrupt foreign plots, and respond to cyber intrusions.

“Firing agents who investigate terrorists, foreign spies, cyber hackers, and child predators does not make America safer, especially when the president’s own intelligence officials warn, publicly and repeatedly, of the many threats facing our nation,” said Warner today.

Warner also highlighted the administration’s dismantling of core cyber infrastructure beyond the FBI. More than one-third of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has been fired and pushed out, even as ransomware and destructive cyberattacks hit state and local governments in at least 44 states. The administration has removed the leadership of the National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency, left U.S. Cyber Command without a permanent commander, and disbanded the Foreign Influence Task Force responsible for safeguarding U.S. elections from foreign interference.

Quoting the intelligence community’s own assessments, Warner underscored the intensifying threat environment: Beijing expanding AI-enabled malign influence operations; Moscow increasing the sophistication and volume of its disinformation and cyber activities; and Iran enhancing its capacity for aggressive cyberattacks on U.S. networks and infrastructure.

Warner warned that the administration’s political interference, including the gutting of the FBI’s operational capabilities and the erosion of federal cyber defenses, is leaving Americans at growing risk.

“The next attack will not wait for Congress to act,” Warner said. “And when it comes, the consequences will not be measured in polling numbers or election results. They will be measured in lives lost, infrastructure damaged, and national security compromised.”

Warner reiterated that he will return to the Senate floor in the coming weeks to continue highlighting instances of political interference across the federal government’s national security apparatus and to press for urgent action to restore integrity and protect the American people.

Senator Warner’s remarks as prepared for delivery appear below:

M. President, two months ago, I came to this floor to warn about the growing politicization of our intelligence community.

I laid out, in detail, how this administration, led by Director of National Intelligence Gabbard, was dismantling the independence, integrity, and credibility of the very institutions we rely on to keep Americans safe.

I had hoped that by sounding that alarm early, the administration might reconsider its actions… or at the very least, slow its march toward turning our intelligence agencies into instruments of political loyalty.

But instead, the situation has grown only more dangerous.

And I want to say at the outset: this will not be the last time I come to this floor on this issue.

I intend to continue making these speeches… for as long as it takes… because the stakes for our national security are too high to let this pattern go unchallenged.

Since my remarks in September, we’ve seen not restraint, but an escalation… an escalation of political retaliation, of the hollowing out of expertise, and of the outright manipulation of intelligence. We are watching, in real time, an administration strip away the guardrails that have protected this country for generations.

I have had the distinct privilege of representing the people of Virginia in this body since 2009. And in nearly 17 years, one of the most consequential responsibilities I’ve held has been serving on the Senate Intelligence Committee… first as a junior member and then, for the last eight years, as Chairman or Vice Chairman.

I always tell our new members that getting a seat on the Committee is a double-edged sword. 

On the one hand, you get access to things that no other Senators see… you see capabilities that would astonish even the most seasoned spy-novel reader among us.

But the other edge is harder: you also see the full scope of the threats facing the United States… daily reports about terrorist plots, cyber-attacks, hostile foreign services targeting our citizens and institutions.

And once you’ve seen that picture clearly, you don’t sleep quite so easily at night. 

It’s precisely because those threats are real, persistent, and in many cases, growing, that I’m so deeply concerned about the Trump administration’s reckless actions – actions that have left our country more vulnerable than at any point in recent memory.

Just last month, FBI Director Kash Patel testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the FBI has experienced a 300percent increase in terrorist cases opened this year alone… on top of a 30percent increase in foreign espionage cases.

At the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Annual Threat Assessment hearing, Director Gabbard reiterated that foreign terrorists remain intent on striking the United States and our citizens… that a range of cyber and intelligence actors continue to target our critical infrastructure… and that state adversaries possess weapons capable of hitting U.S. territory and disabling vital U.S. systems. Indeed, in an interview earlier this month, Director Gabbard repeated that “terrorism continues to pose the greatest – both short- and long-term – threat to the American people.”

Whatever one thinks of the individuals delivering them, the assessments themselves leave no ambiguity about the dangers confronting the United States.

And yet, in spite of those clear and present threats, the Trump administration has chosen a course of action that weakens our defenses and leaves Americans more vulnerable to the very risks its own officials have publicly described.

Since Inauguration Day, the president and his hand-picked FBI Director, Kash Patel, have forced out thousands of experienced agents for reasons that appear more political than professional, like refusing to lie about who won the 2020 election, or for prosecuting the violent criminals who attacked Capitol Police officers on January 6, or simply for being friendly with someone critical of the president.

Alarming court filings suggest that even Director Patel has privately acknowledged that many of these actions may be illegal… yet justified them by saying that his position depended on carrying them out.

The list of those purged reads like a Who’s Who of the Bureau’s most decorated public servants:

Those agents forced out include the former Acting Director of the FBI, Brian Driscoll, who rose through the FBI ranks in some of its most elite units, including the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team… where in 2015 he supported U.S. Special Operations in rescuing an American humanitarian aid worker, Kayla Mueller, from ISIS. Special Agent Driscoll would later rise to be the Head of FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group, the FBI’s elite team in charge of dealing with terrorists, child abductors, bomb threats, and hostage situations. For his service, Agent Driscoll was awarded the FBI Medal of Valor and the Shield of Bravery… only to have Director Patel fire him because he would not purge agents the president deemed politically disloyal.

They include Bobby Wells, who joined the FBI shortly after 9/11 and spent decades in counterterrorism. He eventually became the Head of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, leading efforts against Al Qa’ida, ISIS, and other global terrorist networks. Notably, he helped bring to justice the mastermind of the Kabul International Airport bombing that killed 13 American service members – an accomplishment publicly touted by the president – only to have the president fire him shortly thereafter.

They include Michael Nordwall, the Head of the FBI’s Criminal Cyber Response Branch, who led efforts to combat ransomware attacks, online fraud, and sophisticated cyber intrusions targeting critical U.S. infrastructure.

They include Ryan Young, the Head of FBI’s Intelligence Division… overseeing the collection and analysis of intelligence on domestic and foreign threats, ensuring that field offices had the situational awareness to prevent attacks.

Other senior agents forced out include dozens of heads of FBI field offices nationwide, from Washington, D.C., to Miami, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Seattle. 

Among them was Special Agent Jacqueline Maguire, the lead investigator into the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, whose expertise was critical to understanding 9/11 and preventing further attacks.

And most recently, they include Steven Palmer, a 27-year veteran of the FBI and the third head of the FBI’s elite Critical Incident Response Group to be fired in just three months. As head of the Critical Incident Response Group, he led teams tasked with responding to terrorist attacks, mass shootings, hostage crises, and high-risk national security incidents… work that requires split-second decision-making under extreme pressure. He was fired not for failing in his duties, not for misconduct, and not for political disagreements about law enforcement policy.

He was fired because the American people learned that Director Patel had been using the FBI’s $60 million jet, at $20,000 per flight, to go on dates with his girlfriend. To make matters worse, recent reporting indicates that Patel has now also pulled agents off of an FBI SWAT team to provide a personal security detail for his girlfriend… an unprecedented use of some of one our nation’s most elite units, ordinarily assigned to deal with terrorism, hostage situations, or mass shootings.

Thousands of FBI agents… all forced out, not because they failed to do their jobs, but because they refused to bend the knee to partisan politics. 

And as if that weren’t alarming enough, in recent months the FBI has reassigned between 25 and 45 percent of its agents who handle counterterrorism, cyber, espionage, child sexual abuse, and other critical missions… to immigration enforcement.

Data reveals a 33 percent decrease in the hours spent on child exploitation cases, compared to previous years.

Firing agents who investigate terrorists, foreign spies, cyber hackers, and child predators does not make America safer, especially when the president’s own intelligence officials warn, publicly and repeatedly, of the many threats facing our nation. 

Just this summer, the ODNI issued a bulletin warning of Al Qa-ida and ISIS plots targeting the homeland. And just last month, the FBI disrupted ISIS terrorist plots in Michigan and New Jersey that may have been aimed at Halloween festivities.

I shudder to think what would have happened had the FBI missed these plots… had semi-automatic rifles been unleashed on young children trick-or-treating.

The FBI Agents Association, which represents over 90percent of all active FBI agents, issued a sobering warning earlier this month that Director Patel, quote, “disregarded the law and launched a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution” and that his actions, quote, “make the American public less safe.”

Unfortunately, this political purge of our country’s defenses is not limited to the FBI. 

Since April, the National Security Agency – the agency in charge of spying on the communications of our adversaries – has been without a permanent Director or Deputy Director after President Trump fired General Tim Haugh and his Deputy, Wendy Noble, at the behest of conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer. 

Same for the Defense Intelligence Agency, whose director, General Jeff Kruse, was fired after DIA provided a fact-based assessment that contradicted the president’s false televised claim that U.S. strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program.

This pattern of reckless firings has extended to nearly every corner of our national security enterprise. 

Hundreds of workers who are responsible for maintaining our country’s nuclear weapons… fired. 

Staff managing foreign assistance programs ranging from the detention of ISIS terrorists in Syria to air defense support for Ukraine… fired. 

Hundreds of analysts monitoring China and Russia… fired… including a 29-year veteran of the CIA who supported President Trump’s Alaska Summit with President Putin… whose undercover identity was publicly and incompetently disclosed by DNI Tulsi Gabbard.

More than one-third of CISA – the agency Congress established for the explicit purpose of protecting our critical infrastructure like water, power, and our elections – fired…  even as major cyberattacks hit state and local governments in at least 44 states, including a massive ransomware attack on Nevada’s online government systems in August, a ransomware attack in July on local government networks in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a cyberattack on city systems in Mission, Texas in February.

The irony is stark: despite persistent efforts by China, Russia, Iran, and other adversaries, the 2020 presidential election was one of the most secure in history, thanks in large part to steps taken during the Trump administration’s first term to safeguard our critical infrastructure.

Yet now, much of that hard-won protection has been dismantled, leaving Americans more vulnerable than ever.

Cyber Command, which under General Paul Nakasone disrupted Russian troll farms in 2017, lacks a permanent Commander.  The Foreign Influence Task Force – stood up by President Trump in his first term to share information with state and local partners about foreign interference in our elections – has been disbanded entirely.

And all the while, the administration’s own intelligence reporting warns – and I quote:

“Beijing will continue to expand its coercive and subversive malign influence activities to weaken the United States…[and] is likely to feel emboldened to use malign influence more regularly in coming years, particularly as it fields AI to improve its capabilities.”

“Moscow’s malign influence activities will continue for the foreseeable future and will almost certainly increase in sophistication and volume.”

“Iran’s growing expertise and willingness to conduct aggressive cyber operations make it a major threat to the security of U.S. networks and data.”

The pattern is unmistakable: political loyalty is now valued over competence, and the very institutions created to protect Americans are being dismantled before our eyes.

We can no longer pretend that politics and national security are separate. Every day we allow this purge to continue is a day we leave Americans more exposed – in their homes, on their streets, and online.

The next attack will not wait for Congress to act. The next threat will not ask permission. And when it comes, the consequences will not be measured in polling numbers or election results. They will be measured in lives lost, infrastructure damaged, and national security compromised.

This is the moment to stand up. To defend our intelligence agencies, to protect our agents, and to safeguard the American people. If we fail to act now, we will bear the cost later… a cost that could be catastrophic.

Thank you. I yield the floor.

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WASHINGTON – On the floor of the United States Senate today, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, delivered a major address entitled “The Politicization of Intelligence: A Threat to Our National Security.” In his remarks, Sen. Warner warned that President Trump and Director of National Intelligence Gabbard have systematically undermined the independence of the nation’s intelligence community, highlighting how firings, revoked clearances, and retaliatory reassignments have silenced decades of expertise, punished analysts for telling the truth, and endangered America’s ability to confront threats from adversaries.

“These are professionals who serve under Republican and Democratic administrations alike. They are career officials who put duty before politics. Who swear an oath not to any president but to the Constitution of the United States,” said Warner today. “Yet as this administration fires and denigrates these very men and women, as expertise that takes literally decades to build is being thrown away because it conflicts with political talking points, as assessments grounded in fact are being shelved in favor of conspiracy theories, our adversaries are conspiring, sharing intelligence and military capabilities, and strategizing over how to weaken the United States while advancing a very different authoritarian vision for the world.”

“At the same time, I fear the integrity of our intelligence is being sacrificed on the altar of partisan convenience,” Warner continued. “Mr. President, this is not some kind of inside-the-Beltway turn battle and it’s not another partisan disagreement. I believe at stake is something much more fundamental – whether America will continue to have an intelligence community free to speak truth to power.”

Senator Warner’s remarks as prepared for delivery appear below:

M. President, I rise today out of deep concern for the future of our intelligence community and, in turn, the security of the United States.

For months now, we’ve watched President Trump’s administration – led in this arena by his hand-picked Director of National Intelligence, Ms. Gabbard – systematically undermine the men and women whose only mission is to keep this country safe.

These are professionals who serve under Republican and Democratic administrations alike. They are career officials who put duty before politics, who swear an oath not to any president, but to the Constitution of the United States.

As this administration fires and denigrates those very men and women…

As expertise that takes decades to build is being thrown away because it conflicts with political talking points…

As assessments grounded in fact are being shelved in favor of conspiracy theories…

Our adversaries are conspiring, sharing intelligence and military capabilities, and strategizing over how to weaken the United States while advancing a different authoritarian vision for the world.

At the same time, I fear, the integrity of our intelligence is being sacrificed on the altar of partisan convenience.

M. President, this is not some inside-the-Beltway turf battle, and it is not just another partisan disagreement.

At stake is something much more fundamental: whether America will continue to have an intelligence community free to “speak truth to power,” or whether political pressure will blind us to the very real threats our nation faces.

History shows us what happens when intelligence is ignored, manipulated, or kept from those who need it most.

In 1941, the United States Navy intercepted communications showing that Japan was planning to attack Pearl Harbor. That knowledge, however, was of little use, because it was not communicated to the people who could take action to protect the fleet. The result was a devastating surprise that cost thousands of American lives.

In the aftermath, Congress resolved that we could never again afford to be blindsided. In 1947, Congress created the Central Intelligence Agency, the modern Department of Defense, and other institutions to ensure that unfiltered, unbiased intelligence is provided to the president, to Congress, and to our military. These institutions are meant to protect us from surprises, and to give policymakers the truth, even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient.

For the most part, this system has worked.

But it has never been perfect.

The abuses revealed by the Church Committee in the 1970s made clear why strong congressional oversight is essential. That’s why Congress established the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1976, and our House counterpart the following year.

Today, while not flawless, these committees remain the best check we have to ensure our intelligence agencies uphold American values and laws, avoid repeating past mistakes, and learn from them when they do occur.

Even with our modern system of congressional oversight, we have seen tragic failures: intelligence failed to predict the collapse of the Soviet Union. We failed to “connect the dots” before 9/11. And perhaps most foreboding, in the run-up to the Iraq War, intelligence was distorted to fit policy preferences. Intelligence about weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein’s ties to al-Qaeda were inflated and cherry-picked. Analysts who raised doubts were ignored.

The result was a devastating war in Iraq, fought under false pretenses, that cost thousands of American servicemembers their lives and limbs.

But we learned from these failures: After the September 11th attacks, Congress placed additional safeguards and created a new position: Director of National Intelligence. The objective was to better coordinate our intelligence agencies, to avoid “group-think,” to remove silos among our intelligence agencies, and to ensure that analysts could provide thorough, candid assessments – even when the truth was uncomfortable or unwelcome. 

That was the commitment I asked the current Director of National Intelligence, Ms. Gabbard, to make during her confirmation hearing. And she assured our Committee and the American people that she would protect the independence of the intelligence community – ensure that the IC is never politicized. She even pointed to the run-up to the war in Iraq as the clearest example of what happens when intelligence is bent to fit policy, and the president is told only what he wants to hear. She pledged that she would never allow those mistakes to be repeated on her watch. 

But, M. President, in only six months, we have seen the opposite from this administration.

We’ve seen career FBI agents – people who have risked their lives for this country – forced out of their positions simply for investigating crimes connected to the January 6th insurrection. These were professionals following the law, performing their sworn duties, and yet their service was treated as disloyalty.

Careers were ended, and decades of expertise were discarded, just for doing the job they were entrusted to do.

We’ve seen the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the National Intelligence Council dismissed because their well-documented, evidence-based assessment of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua criminal network did not align with the administration’s preferred narrative.

These analysts presented carefully sourced intelligence showing that the gang acted independently of the Venezuelan government – not at the behest of foreign officials – and yet their findings were rejected, and their leadership positions removed, simply because the truth did not fit a politically convenient story.

To be clear, there is no question that both Maduro’s regime and TdA are ruthless actors who pose real threats… but punishing intelligence officials for telling the truth only weakens our ability to confront them effectively.

We’ve seen the three-star general leading the Defense Intelligence Agency pushed out after analysts produced a straightforward, evidence-based assessment showing that Iran’s nuclear program had not been “obliterated,” as President Trump so loudly claimed.

Rather than face facts, the administration decided to punish the messenger.

We’ve seen analysts with decades of experience on Russia stripped of their security clearances, or reassigned, at the very moment their expertise is needed most.

DNI Gabbard has personally revoked the clearances of at least 37 individuals in a transparently political act of vengeance, sweeping aside decades of experience with the stroke of a pen, and, in at least one case, exposing an official working under cover.

We’ve seen statutory requirements to keep Congress fully and currently informed ignored, oversight stymied and obstructed, and inspectors general and their personnel silenced, forced out, or removed.

We’ve even seen highly sensitive intelligence declassified and released, for clearly political purposes, without proper coordination with the agencies responsible for protecting sources and methods. These disclosures risk revealing the identities of assets, the techniques we rely on, and the credibility of ongoing operations… all for the sake of advancing a political narrative. The very tools that protect lives and maintain America’s strategic advantage are being treated as leverage in a partisan game.

Let’s remember: the so-called “Russia hoax” assessment, which this administration continues to disparage, was a coordinated, unanimous finding by the entire intelligence community.

Our Committee – on a bipartisan, unanimous basis – reviewed it and validated it. Extensively. Not a single one of my Republican colleagues objected to its findings, including the current Secretary of State, then-Committee Chairman Senator Rubio.

And what did that assessment actually conclude? That Russia conducted a sweeping and systematic campaign to interfere in our 2016 election. That Moscow’s goal was to sow chaos, to undermine faith in American democracy, and specifically to boost Donald Trump’s candidacy. These findings were not partisan talking points. They were the sober judgment of career professionals, backed by evidence, and affirmed by both parties in Congress.

And, as troubling as all of this is, what may be most astonishing is who seems to be calling the shots. Not seasoned national security leaders. Not career intelligence professionals. But conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer… a figure who has called the 9/11 terrorist attacks “an inside job,” who has described herself as a “pro-white nationalist” and a “proud Islamophobe,” and who has made openly racist and anti-Muslim statements.

This is not someone with even a shred of credibility, let alone the experience or the judgment we should demand from those influencing U.S. national security decisions.

Yet time and again, we have seen senior officials pushed out of their posts because Ms. Loomer decided they were not sufficiently loyal to the president. National Security Council staffers – people well known and respected on both sides of the aisle, including staffers who worked for my Republican colleagues in the Senate – were shown the door at her demand.

The top two officials at the National Security Agency – including a well-respected four-star general, Timothy Haugh – forced out, along with the agency’s general counsel… again at Loomer’s behest.

These are critical posts in one of our most important intelligence organizations, vacated not because of misconduct or failure, but because of the whims of a political provocateur whose public record is filled with hate and conspiracies.

And just a few weeks ago, we saw something that I believe should trouble every member of this body, regardless of party.

My staff and I had arranged a visit to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, located in my home state of Virginia, so that I could perform my constitutional duty of oversight… and meet with intelligence professionals who also happen to be my constituents. Yet at the last minute, that visit was blocked… again, apparently, at the direction of Laura Loomer.

M. President, what does it say about the state of our national security when a self-proclaimed white nationalist and Islamophobe, with a personal vendetta against U.S. government officials, someone with no accountability, no clearance, and no sworn duty to the Constitution, can dictate who serves in critical intelligence positions, and even prevent members of this chamber from conducting basic oversight?

M. President: I must also ask you: why is this administration going to war against the very professionals sworn to keep our country safe? Why are decades of service and sacrifice tossed aside, because they are obliged to provide unbiased truth?  Because it is inconvenient? Because their assessments are not what the DNI and the president want to hear?

The safeguards we put in place… the oversight this body provides… only work if intelligence officers know that they can tell the truth without losing their jobs. If analysts believe their careers will be destroyed for offering inconvenient assessments, then we will only get the intelligence the White House wants.

Imagine the consequences if our intelligence community is forced to spend its time chasing down conspiracy theories instead of monitoring terrorist networks, cyber threats, or foreign adversaries.

Imagine if analysts stop flagging real dangers because they fear political retaliation.

Imagine if experienced officers walk away from service altogether because they know their expertise will be dismissed or punished.

That kind of environment doesn’t just weaken our intelligence community, it puts every American family at risk.

M. President, this is not a partisan point. Democrats and Republicans alike have relied on the intelligence community to keep this country safe. Every president, whether they liked what they were hearing or not, has depended on accurate, independent analysis to make decisions that affect millions of lives.

That is what makes the current moment so alarming. We are dismantling trust in institutions that took generations to build. We are eroding morale among some of the most dedicated professionals in public service. And we are sending a clear message to young officers: don’t bother building a career in intelligence if you plan to tell the truth.

Meanwhile, our adversaries aren’t slowing down. Cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, nuclear proliferation, terrorist attacks, transnational criminal organizations… these threats are real, and they will not wait for us to get our house in order. If we let politics dictate what intelligence is acceptable, we are effectively flying blind.

That’s why I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle: take this seriously. We can disagree about policy, but we cannot allow the facts themselves to be corrupted. The intelligence community must remain independent, professional, and committed to the Constitution above all else.

The men and women who dedicate their lives to this work deserve nothing less. And the American people deserve nothing less.

Thank you M. President, I yield the floor.

WASHINGTON – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement:

“Weeks ago, I arranged an on-site meeting this coming Friday at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s headquarters in Springfield, Va., to connect with the nonpartisan career intelligence professionals who serve our country every day. These are Virginians – my constituents – and I have held more than a dozen similar private listening sessions with NGA and other intelligence agencies in Virginia under both Democratic and Republican presidents, including during President Trump’s first term. Engagements such as these are a core part of my responsibility to provide oversight and support to our intelligence community and hear from Americans who live in Virginia, and they have never been questioned or politicized, until now.  

“Over the weekend, conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer discovered the unpublicized, classified visit and launched a campaign of baseless attacks against both me and NGA Director Vice Admiral Trey Whitworth for hosting what has always been considered a routine oversight meeting. In response to Loomer’s criticism, political appointees canceled the visit, just the latest example of an administration seemingly desperate to please Loomer, a figure with a long history of extreme and outlandish fringe views, including 9/11 denialism, anti-Muslim harassment campaigns, and associations with white supremacists.

“This nakedly political decision undermines the dedicated, nonpartisan staff at NGA and threatens the principle of civilian oversight that protects our national security. Members of Congress routinely conduct meetings and on-site engagements with federal employees in their states and districts; blocking and setting arbitrary conditions on these sessions sets a dangerous precedent, calling into question whether oversight is now allowed only when it pleases the far-right fringe. This should concern Republicans as well as Democrats: if routine oversight can be obstructed for political reasons, no member of Congress is immune.

“Let me be clear: I will never be deterred from carrying out my constitutional responsibilities. The business of government and the security of our nation will not be dictated by extremist attention-seekers. I will continue to hold the government accountable and meet with the career intelligence professionals who keep our country safe.”

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WASHINGTON – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a co-author of the CHIPS and Science Act, released a statement after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. government would take an equity stake in Intel in exchange for billions in federal funding from the CHIPS law:

“Semiconductors are a cornerstone of global competitiveness, and U.S. leadership is critical for both our economy and national security. Taking an equity stake in Intel may or may not be the right approach, but one thing is clear: allowing cutting-edge chips to flow to China without restraint will erode the value of any investment we make here at home. We need a strategy that protects American innovation, strengthens our workforce, and keeps the technologies of the future firmly in American hands.

“Additionally, given the administration’s recent approach to other high-profile technology transactions, Congress must apply thorough scrutiny for potential conflicts of interest or undue interference in private-sector decisions unrelated to national security.”

Warner has previously warned that the Trump administration’s decision to allow the sale of advanced AI chips to China could strengthen its military systems, including hypersonics, communications, surveillance, and battlefield decision-making, posing significant national security risks.

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WASHINGTON – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard arbitrarily and unilaterally revoked security clearances of 37 current and former national security and intelligence officials:   

“Gabbard’s move to yank clearances from a seemingly random list of national security officials is a reckless abuse of the security clearance process and nothing more than another sad attempt to distract from the administration’s failure to release the Epstein files. National security should never be weaponized for political revenge. That’s why I have introduced bipartisan legislation that would explicitly prohibit exactly this kind of political abuse and ensure clearance decisions are based only on established criteria.”

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