NSA Blocks Release of Whistleblower Complaint Against Tulsi Gabbard, Citing Executive Privilege

By Solange Reyner | Wednesday, 25 February 2026 12:37 PM EST

The National Security Agency has stated that it will not share classified intelligence related to a whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard due to the assertion of executive privilege for portions of the material.

Gabbard’s office made the statement in a February 13 email to Democratic congressional staffers.

The intelligence, assembled by the NSA, concerns a conversation between two foreign nationals about President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., and Representative Jim Himes, D-Conn., sent a letter to Gabbard on Tuesday demanding answers regarding the report and the basis for her assertion of executive privilege over the intelligence.

“This response and assertion of privilege over this type of intelligence report is unprecedented,” the lawmakers said. “The request and provision of intelligence reports have been long-standing practice between the intelligence community 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 advisers,” they added.

The lawmakers also questioned the basis for the privilege claim, asking whether President Trump “asserted” executive privilege over the underlying intelligence report and, if so, when he did so and on what basis.

A whistleblower has accused Gabbard of wrongdoing, but the complaint is highly classified and has not been shared with Congress.

Officials reported that Gabbard has blocked the release of the report. Behind-the-scenes disputes have occurred over how to handle the allegation.

Gabbard’s office previously shared the complaint with select lawmakers earlier this month, but the document was heavily redacted.

One official told a source that disclosing the document could cause “grave damage to national security.”

The complaint, filed last May, has been stored in a secure location due to its inclusion of “exceptionally sensitive materials necessitating special handling and storage requirements,” as stated by an intelligence community inspector general.