The Trump administration slammed Tuesday a Washington Post report that claimed a task force formed by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to restore transparency and accountability to the intelligence community is being used for nefarious purposes.
The Post alleged the Director’s Initiatives Group, formed in April to help implement President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day executive order on ending the weaponization of the federal government, is seeking access to emails and chat logs from spy agencies with the goal of using artificial intelligence tools “to ferret out what the administration deems as efforts to undermine its agenda.”
The report’s allegations, based entirely on unnamed sources, called the move “unprecedented,” and that the effort could be used to “pursue perceived disloyalty to the Trump administration.”
Olivia Coleman, press secretary for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told the Post, “The truth is, under the leadership of President Trump, DNI Gabbard and her team at ODNI are daring to do what no other has done before — expose the truth and end the politicization and weaponization of intelligence against Americans.” But Coleman told Newsmax that was only a portion of her statement, and she provided Newsmax with the full statement she gave to the Post.
“The Washington Post, a publication famous for their dishonest reporting on President Trump, including discredited Russian collusion lies, spent Fourth of July weekend spinning up falsehoods from anonymous sources who lack credibility,” she said. “The truth is, under the leadership of President Trump, DNI Gabbard and her team at ODNI are daring to do what no other has done before — expose the truth and end the politicization and weaponization of intelligence against Americans — and the deep state HATES it.
“The Washington Post’s willingness to publish such baseless fearmongering further erodes public trust and exposes its political agenda. Don’t fall for the lies.”
Newsmax reached out to the Post to comment on why Coleman’s full statement wasn’t published.
Gabbard said in an April statement that the task force was established “to rebuild trust in the Intelligence Community and execute the tasks required by President Trump’s intelligence-related Executive Orders.” She said it already has identified “wasteful spending in real time, streamlining outdated processes, reviewing documents for declassification, and leading ongoing efforts to root out abuses of power and politicization.”
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told the Post he has “limited visibility” into the task force’s activities ” but what I have seen gives me real cause for concern.” But Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., chair of the Intelligence Committee, praised Gabbard “for her efforts to create accountability in the intelligence community,” the Post reported.
In a statement in May, Crawford said that “correcting the direction of a large ship will never be easy. It’s bound to be laden with obstructions and those looking to undermine change.” Gabbard, he said, “has done the right thing” in seeking to root out politicization in intelligence work.
The lead author of the Post report was Ellen Nakashima, a veteran national security correspondent and member of three Pulitzer Prize-winning teams, including one regarding the now-debunked reports of Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election. Gabbard on July 3 accused Nakashima of using deceptive tactics to extract sensitive information from intelligence officials, labeling her “a clear political op.”
Gabbard claimed Nakashima sidestepped her press office and used covert methods to reach high-ranking officials in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.” The Post called Gabbard’s claim “unfounded.”
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