The Situation
A U.S. intelligence official filed a whistleblower complaint against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in May 2025. Eight months later, Congress still hasn't seen it. The complaint is so highly classified that the whistleblower's own attorney has been denied access to review it.
This matters because the Intelligence Community Inspector General is statutorily required to assess complaint credibility within two weeks and forward credible complaints to Congress. That hasn't happened. Instead, the complaint remains trapped in what the whistleblower's attorney, Andrew Bakaj, characterizes as stonewalling. Gabbard's office claims it's "working to resolve the issue" and has provided guidance to support eventual transmission. Bakaj says no such guidance was received.
The Complications
The complaint reportedly implicates not just Gabbard's office but "an office within a different federal agency" and raises potential executive privilege claims involving the White House. Officials warn disclosure could cause "grave damage to national security."
The inspector general determined allegations against Gabbard lack credibility but couldn't evaluate other claims in the complaint. This split assessment appears to be driving the procedural impasse.
Intelligence employees file approximately a dozen "urgent concern" allegations annually with the inspector general. The standard process typically requires only weeks when the director provides secure transmission guidance. Eight months without resolution is unusual.
What This Means
The delay prevents Congress from accessing any documentation or assessing the complaint's credibility independently. Oversight experts quoted in reporting suggest classification disputes may be applied too broadly, potentially setting precedent where secrecy prevents scrutiny of senior officials.
Context matters here: reporting indicates Trump has "largely sidelined Gabbard from national security decisions," instead tasking her with investigating unsubstantiated 2020 election claims. Whether this affects her cooperation with oversight mechanisms is unclear.
Congress became aware of the complaint's existence in November 2025, when Bakaj shared his letter to Gabbard with lawmakers. The public learned about it this week.
The real question: Can classification be used indefinitely to prevent oversight of senior officials? We'll see. But the precedent being set deserves attention.