Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department related to a former intelligence community inspector general and a whistleblower whose complaint helped trigger the first impeachment of President Donald Trump.

The whistleblower complaint, deemed credible at the time by then-Inspector General Michael Atkinson, set off a chain of events that culminated in Trump’s impeachment in 2019 for pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate his then-political rival Joe Biden. The Senate later acquitted Trump in a largely party-line vote. 

The criminal referral was first reported by Fox News. A spokesperson for Gabbard’s office confirmed to MS NOW that she had sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department but declined to provide further details. 

“ODNI can confirm a criminal referral was sent to DOJ related to one or more former employees of the Intelligence Community and their role in the 2019 impeachment of President Trump,” the spokesperson said.

It was not immediately clear what specific criminal statutes may have been cited in the referrals, which do not themselves constitute charges, but ask prosecutors to review whether crimes may have been committed. The Justice Department typically evaluates such referrals to determine whether to open a formal investigation. The identity of the whistleblower has not been publicly disclosed.

Gabbard’s referral, according to Fox News, states, the ODNI wants “to refer information that may constitute possible criminal activity in violation of federal criminal law committed by one or more former employees of the intelligence community.”

“The possible criminal activity concerns the circumstances described in the following congressional briefings: Discussion with Intelligence Community Inspector General, House Permanent Select Comm. on Intel., 116th Cong. (2019); Briefing by the Intelligence Community Inspector General, House Permanent Select Comm. on Intel., 116th Cong. (2019),” it added.

Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that the referral was the latest example of Gabbard apparently trying to please President Trump.

Warner has repeatedly warned that Gabbard is spreading conspiracy theories that are laying the groundwork for Trump — with Gabbard’s help — to “take over” the midterm elections in November and decide who wins.

Warner called the criminal referral “yet another desperate attempt by Tulsi Gabbard to crush and criminalize dissent and manipulate the levers of power in favor of Trump — much like she’s attempting to do in our elections.”

Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that Trump had tried to “extort Ukraine” and that “the whistleblower followed all the rules and demonstrated courage and principle.”

“No amount of sycophantic lickspittle will erase the fact that the ‘perfect’ call was released, and the American people could see Trump’s corruption and abuse of power firsthand,” Himes said. “This apparent criminal referral will amount to nothing because no misconduct occurred, but what it will do is chill future whistleblowers from coming forward to Congress with confidence that the law will protect them. I suspect that is precisely the point.”

The criminal referrals come two days after Gabbard released documents she said expose a “deep state” conspiracy behind the first impeachment of Trump.

“Newly-declassified records expose how deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that Congress used to usurp the will of the American people and impeach duly-elected President @realDonaldTrump in 2019,” Gabbard posted on X on Monday.

But the documents did not provide clear evidence of direct coordination. The documents also included positive descriptions of the whistleblower, including a colleague describing them as a “star performer,”credible and trustworthy.

The former intelligence community inspector general did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.

A former Justice Department official who worked with Atkinson, who served as a career DOJ lawyer for about two decades before becoming an inspector general, praised his work to MS NOW.

“He was an exceedingly careful and thoughtful attorney and public servant,” said the former DOJ official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing concern about possible retaliation. “The notion that he would have engaged in any criminal wrongdoing is preposterous.”

Lisa Rubin contributed reporting.

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