ODNI general counsel warned whistleblower's attorney against briefing Congress on classified Gabbard complaint

On February 9, 2026, the general counsel's office for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent a letter warning attorney Andrew Bakaj against directly briefing members of Congress on a classified whistleblower complaint. Bakaj represents an anonymous intelligence-community employee who filed a complaint in May 2025 alleging that Gabbard withheld a highly classified intelligence report's distribution for political purposes and that her general counsel's office failed to report a potential crime to the Justice Department. Bakaj had offered to meet with lawmakers or their staffs to discuss the allegations; ODNI's general counsel warned against that, writing that Bakaj or his client could face criminal charges for mishandling classified information if they briefed Congress: "You may have other means of appearing in front of Congress, but this is not it."

Federal law entitles intelligence-community whistleblowers to bring an urgent complaint directly to Congress's "Gang of Eight" — the House and Senate leadership and the top members of both chambers' intelligence committees — once an inspector general has deemed it urgent. The complaint did not reach the Gang of Eight until early February 2026, roughly eight months after it was filed, and Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats including Sen. Mark Warner said the delay itself "raises huge concerns." Bakaj responded to the general counsel's letter by asking the House and Senate intelligence committees to press Gabbard's office for guidance on how his client could lawfully share their concerns with lawmakers.

Updates

2026-02-25 — Warner, Himes demanded answers on delay, privilege claim [2]

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes sent a letter to Gabbard demanding to know who asserted an "unprecedented" executive-privilege claim withholding the underlying intelligence report from the Gang of Eight and when, and pressed for the whistleblower's counsel to receive the security guidance for communicating with Congress that remained withheld more than two weeks after ODNI's warning letter.