DNI Gabbard sent DOJ a criminal referral targeting the 2019 impeachment whistleblower and IG who validated the complaint

On April 15, 2026, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's office confirmed it had submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department seeking investigation of the anonymous whistleblower whose 2019 complaint about President Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy led to Trump's first impeachment, and of then-Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who reviewed, credited, and forwarded that complaint to Congress. An ODNI spokesperson confirmed the referral concerned "one or more former employees of the Intelligence Community and their role in the 2019 impeachment of President Trump." The referral was first reported by Fox News.

The referral followed Gabbard's release, on April 13, 2026, of declassified documents — including Atkinson's 2019 closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee and interview notes with the whistleblower — that she said exposed a "coordinated effort ... to manufacture a conspiracy" used to impeach Trump. Gabbard's office alleged Atkinson relied on secondhand evidence and exceeded his statutory jurisdiction by forwarding the complaint to Congress after the Justice Department had already determined "no further action was warranted." The documents did not present new evidence contradicting the underlying facts of the 2019 impeachment, which centered on the transcript of Trump's call with Zelenskyy. Trump fired Atkinson in April 2020, a move critics said reflected retaliation against an independent watchdog.

Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the whistleblower "followed all the rules and demonstrated courage and principle" and that the referral "will amount to nothing because no misconduct occurred" but would "chill future whistleblowers from coming forward." Sen. Mark Warner, the Senate Intelligence Committee's ranking Democrat, called the referral "yet another desperate attempt by Tulsi Gabbard to crush and criminalize dissent." Government-transparency advocates have separately warned that criminal referrals against whistleblowers and the inspectors general who validate their complaints are rare and risk deterring future disclosures of wrongdoing.