Tulsi Gabbard targets press, leakers as national intelligence director

Incident Details

Date of Incident: March 14, 2025
Location: Washington, District of Columbia
Targets: HuffPost, Media, NBC News, The Record, The Washington Post

Chilling Statement

March 14, 2025

Shortly after President Donald Trump’s second term began, Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, joined Trump in taking steps to intimidate leakers and news outlets that have covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting her efforts in this regularly updated report.

Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more here.

This article was first published on March 14, 2025.

March 14, 2025 | Investigation opened into media leaks from U.S. spy agencies

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, announced on March 14, 2025, that the Trump administration will aggressively investigate the source of leaks from U.S. intelligence agencies to members of the media.

In posts on the social platform X, Gabbard cited recent reports by HuffPost, The Washington Post, NBC News and The Record as examples of such “politically motivated leaks.” She added that the leaks “undermine our national security and the trust of the American people, and will not be tolerated.”

The New York Times reported that, while Gabbard promised action against the leakers and not the newsrooms that publish it, it signals an effort to chill national security reporting.

“Leak investigations threaten the free flow of information that the public needs to hold the government accountable, especially in the national security context,” Bruce Brown, the president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, told the Times. “This is true from administration to administration.”

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The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].