Whistleblower complaint ties US intelligence chief to intercepted foreign call on Trump associate - report

A whistleblower complaint filed against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard centers on a sensitive phone conversation intercepted by the National Security Agency involving individuals linked to a foreign government and a person close to President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.

The discussion referenced issues related to Iran, the people said. The full substance of the call could not be determined, in part because it was unclear whether the claims made about the individual close to Trump were accurate, according to those familiar with the intelligence.

The intercepted conversation was a key catalyst for a highly classified whistleblower complaint filed by a US intelligence official in May. The complaint alleged that Gabbard limited the sharing of the intelligence within the US intelligence community for political purposes, people familiar with the matter said.

The existence of the whistleblower complaint was first reported this week by The Wall Street Journal. According to the report, the call was difficult to assess because foreign intelligence officers and diplomats are known to sometimes make deliberately misleading statements when they believe adversarial intelligence agencies may be monitoring communications.

Shortly after the intelligence was collected, Gabbard met with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to discuss the matter, according to people familiar with the meeting. The whistleblower complaint alleges that following that discussion, Gabbard worked to restrict the dissemination of the intelligence related to the call.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has not publicly commented on the allegations. The complaint remains highly classified, and it is not clear what steps, if any, are being taken to investigate the claims or whether further disclosures may follow.