Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made headlines on Sunday with a powerful declaration that whistleblowers from within the U.S. intelligence community are now stepping forward to expose what she describes as a “treasonous conspiracy” waged by the Obama administration against President Donald Trump following his 2016 electoral victory.
Gabbard’s revelation comes in the wake of her release of declassified documents and an internal memo detailing what she calls a “years-long coup” intended to undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency from the moment he defeated Hillary Clinton.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo, Gabbard explained that the release of these documents has triggered a response from individuals who were directly involved or had firsthand knowledge of intelligence operations between 2016 and 2020.
According to Gabbard, these whistleblowers—many of whom held sensitive roles within agencies like the CIA, NSA, and FBI—are deeply disturbed by what they witnessed during the transition of power from Obama to Trump and are now prepared to testify or provide further documentation.
“We have whistleblowers … coming forward now, after we released these documents because there are people who were around, who were working within the intelligence community, who [are] so disgusted by what happened,” Gabbard told Bartiromo.
“We’re starting to see some of them come out of the woodwork here because they, too, like you and I and the American people, want to see justice delivered.”
Gabbard emphasized that all information obtained will be submitted directly to the Department of Justice with the explicit goal of launching criminal prosecutions against those responsible. She did not specify how many whistleblowers have emerged but suggested that the number is growing as her office continues its declassification efforts.
“There must be indictments,” Gabbard declared. “Those responsible, no matter how powerful they are or were at that time, no matter who was involved in creating this treasonous conspiracy against the American people—they all must be held accountable.”
The newly released memo and documents, which Gabbard made public on Friday, reportedly contain evidence that top Obama-era officials—including former CIA Director John Brennan, former FBI Director James Comey, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper—were involved in manipulating intelligence and misusing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to monitor Trump campaign aides under questionable legal justifications. Gabbard has described this coordinated effort as not only unethical but criminal.
She also expressed dismay that previous investigative efforts failed to uncover the material her office has now made available. “I question the same things that you’re asking here,” she said to Bartiromo.
“I don’t know what excuse there is for those who supposedly investigated this previously—whether it was Durham or others—that they were not able to put together the dots and ultimately show the truth to the American people.”
Gabbard’s comments reference the investigation conducted by Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed in 2019 to look into the origins of the FBI’s Russia probe.
Durham’s final report, released in May 2023, concluded that the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign was deeply flawed and based on unverified information, notably the discredited Steele Dossier.
However, critics of the Durham investigation argue that it failed to hold key figures accountable or explore the broader scope of what Gabbard now alleges was a “deep state” operation.
In 2020, Durham did secure a single guilty plea from Kevin Clinesmith, an FBI attorney who admitted to falsifying a document used to renew a FISA warrant targeting Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.
Clinesmith was sentenced to probation and community service, a punishment that many in the Trump administration and Republican circles viewed as a slap on the wrist. Falsifying a FISA document can carry a sentence of up to ten years in prison under federal law.
Gabbard called this outcome “an unacceptable miscarriage of justice,” pointing to the broader implications of such an action. “This is of such historic consequence that it cannot be limited to one or two or three different people,” she said. “This wasn’t just a rogue agent here or there—this was a fully coordinated effort involving multiple layers of intelligence and law enforcement.”
She went on to define the “deep state” not as a conspiracy theory but as a reality composed of unelected officials acting without oversight. “These are people who are intent on undermining the will of the American people and trying to ultimately put themselves above our democracy,” she said. “This is why it’s so important that we continue down this path.”
Gabbard also criticized the Democratic National Committee and the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign for funding the Steele Dossier, which played a central role in obtaining FISA surveillance warrants.
In March 2022, the DNC and the Clinton campaign agreed to pay a combined $113,000 fine to the Federal Election Commission for misreporting payments related to the research that produced the dossier.
The Steele Dossier, authored by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, made numerous explosive but ultimately unverified claims about Trump and his alleged connections to the Kremlin.
Despite the dossier’s eventual collapse under scrutiny, it was used by intelligence officials to initiate surveillance of Trump associates, most notably Carter Page. “They used that fake dossier as a pretext to spy on a presidential campaign, and then a sitting president,” Gabbard said. “That is beyond Watergate. That is treason.”
While Trump has long contended that he was targeted by a politically motivated witch hunt, Gabbard’s emergence as a central figure in this ongoing investigation lends renewed institutional legitimacy to that claim.
Once a Democratic presidential candidate herself, Gabbard has shifted her political identity since assuming her role as Director of National Intelligence under President Trump, embracing transparency, accountability, and what she calls the “rule of law above party.”
Political analysts note that her position is unique and unprecedented. No prior DNI has taken such an openly confrontational approach toward past administrations, particularly with regard to declassifying sensitive intelligence.
Her push for full disclosure and criminal accountability is likely to intensify existing political tensions and trigger fierce opposition from those implicated.
Still, her actions have energized Trump supporters and aligned her with Republican efforts to unmask what they view as systemic corruption within the intelligence community.
Many on the right see Gabbard as a new type of leader—someone who emerged from the establishment only to challenge it from the inside. Her calls for prosecutions have galvanized a growing base of Americans who feel that the federal government has been weaponized against them.
President Trump has publicly praised Gabbard’s courage and determination. In recent remarks, he said: “Tulsi is doing what no one else had the guts to do. She’s telling the truth. She’s opening the vaults. She’s letting the American people see the documents the deep state never wanted them to see.”
Though Gabbard has not named all of the whistleblowers or revealed the full scope of what they are alleging, sources within the intelligence community suggest that their testimony could corroborate claims of coordinated disinformation campaigns, unlawful surveillance, and even deliberate obfuscation of evidence meant to protect key political figures.
Meanwhile, legal experts have begun weighing in on what could happen next. If Gabbard’s team is able to submit credible evidence of systemic misconduct and link high-level officials directly to efforts to subvert a presidential election, federal prosecutors could face mounting pressure to convene grand juries or reopen prior investigations.
Some experts caution, however, that the road to prosecution is fraught with political obstacles. The Department of Justice, while now operating under President Trump’s leadership, still includes many career officials whose reputations and careers are tied to prior administrations.
Overcoming internal resistance and securing meaningful indictments may prove difficult without overwhelming public and congressional support.
Still, Gabbard remains undeterred. “We will not stop,” she said firmly. “The American people deserve to know the truth. And those who tried to subvert democracy must face justice.”
As whistleblowers continue to come forward and Gabbard prepares additional document releases in the coming weeks, the national spotlight is once again fixed on the darkest corners of American political power. With accountability on the horizon and names finally being named, a political reckoning may be closer than Washington ever anticipated.
