DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s action to strip the security clearances is a clear warning that her boss told her to shut down the deep-state cottage industry of former spies able and willing to interfere in U.S. elections.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi swears in Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, Feb. 12, 2025 (Office of the Director of National Intelligence/Public Domain)
By Ray McGovern
Special to Consortium News
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard on Monday revoked the security clearances of dozens of former senior officials – including former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ex-National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and the 51 intelligence executives who conjured up the story that Hunter Biden’s incriminating laptop was the work of Russian intelligence.
All their clearances were X-ed out on “X,” on which Gabbard wrote:
“Per @POTUS directive, I have revoked security clearances and barred access to classified information for Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, and Andrew Weissman, along with the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden ‘disinformation’ letter. The President’s Daily Brief is no longer being provided to former President Biden.”
Gabbard’s move will send a tidal wave through Washington D.C.’s Tidal Basin. Creatures of “The Swamp,” plus allies in the media and Democratic Party, will raise a din. No matter. The intelligence chiefs who corrupted the profession in which I once took pride had it coming.
[Former C.I.A. agent John Kiriakou told Consortium News‘ CN Live! in February 2023 that while he was at the C.I.A. he often saw former senior agency officials hanging around headquarters discussing current intelligence and political matters. This should be harder to do now without their security clearances.]
Director Gabbard’s action is a clear warning that her boss told her to shut down the deep-state cottage industry of former spies able and willing to interfere in U.S. elections. Besides, a security clearance is a privilege, not an entitlement. President Trump said, “These are people we don’t respect.”
Trump has learned that the hard way – before and during his first term. The abundant evidence of intelligence officials meddling in domestic politics during the debunked Russiagate “scandal” justifies the step he ordered Gabbard to take.
[See: RAY McGOVERN: Russiagate Evidence, Please]
How Far Will Gabbard Go?
There is more housecleaning to do. Gabbard should have a well-informed ally to assist her in cleaning the Augean stables -– new F.B.I. Director Kash Patel.
Among other key positions he held, Patel was a senior staff investigator on the House Intelligence Committee. He prepared a damning critique of the so-called “Intelligence Community Assessment” of Jan. 6, 2017, which blamed – with no hard evidence – the Russians for “hacking” those DNC emails so prejudicial to candidate Hillary Clinton, and which launched Russiagate into full swing.
[See: The January 2017 ‘Assessment’ on Russiagate]
Thanks to the suppression of news by Establishment media, few Americans are aware that the “Russia hacking” charge was disproven more than seven years ago, by the fellow who knew, CrowdStrike President , in sworn testimony.
[See: RAY McGOVERN: Twin Pillars of Russiagate Crumble]
While Clinton kept claiming that the evidence-free claims of the “Intelligence Community Assessment” were supported “by all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies”, Patel’s investigation of classified material proved that to be a whopping lie. Rather, it was put together by four or five “handpicked analysts” led by then-C.I.A. Director John Brennan (amongst those now stripped of their clearances by Gabbard).
State Department Intelligence, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and a dozen other agencies were excluded. Brennan got only NSA and the F.B.I. to endorse it, and the NSA reluctantly.
Speaking Freely
New-F.B.I. Director Patel spoke freely to journalist Aaron Mate about this and other experiences, just after he left government in February 2021. In this candid interview, Patel lamented that, although Trump declassified his House Intel Committee investigation of the so-called “Intelligence Community Assessment”, it somehow remained classified.
Not for long, I would wager (assuming at least one copy has escaped the shredder). I would guess this may be Gabbard’s next step as she moves to fix intelligence analysis.
For example, she may wish to follow up on Patel’s earlier study by interviewing one Michael van Landingham, an intelligence analyst who is proud of having written the first draft of the cornerstone “analysis” of Russiagate; that’s right, I mean that “Intelligence Community Assessment.”
Last August, I wrote on his crowing about his role. The headline was: “Decay, Decrepitude, Deceit in Journalism.” I should have added … and in Intelligence.
In sum, DNI Gabbard, with the help of Patel, certainly has her work cut out for her. The good news is that some of the buried bodies are not very deep.
Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. His 27 years as a C.I.A. analyst included leading the Soviet Foreign Policy Branch and conducting the morning briefings of the President’s Daily Brief. In retirement he co-founded Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).
Views expressed in this article and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
They will simply promote the CIA and FBI guys willing to do their bidding, little of which will be benign. they gonna to go after BLM and Antifa and any whistle blowers they can same as Clinton, Bush, Obama et all. None of these people are heroes. Gabard, if she is actually a moral and decent person won’t last out the year with this criminal gang. make no mistake, we may deserve it but these people are doing the same thing to the US that we did to Russia after the break up of the USSR.
Ray McGovern is a national asset.
What a strange transition Tulsi has made over a few years; now being an enforcer at Trump’s last-gasp saloon.. She is fulfilling a role that rightfully belonged to Sarah Palin.. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, but we know one fact already; Israel’s genocide will go unpunished..
Gabbard and Patel will do what Trump tells them. Trump will weaponize the intelligence bureaus to politically persecute his perceived enemies. There’s no justice here.
Trump is a swamp animal as much as the ones he’s trying to purge.
Great reporting, Ray.
As we know, some persons in the current US administration are listening to Judging Freedom and perhaps also reading old (and still relevant) VIPS reports. I deduce a careful re-issue of useful information in this article via links.
Whether the hope placed in Gabbard and Patel for cleaning out the political corruption in the “Intelligence Community” is justified, is still to be assessed. But, McGovern is given them valuable assistance should they heed his hints.
Glad the Russiagate criminals are losing access. That’s about all I can say that is positive for now. Trump and his cabinet and minions still support the genocide of the Palestinians. They intend to criminalize criticism of Israel. It seems to me, that is treason. Violating the First Amendment rights of US citizens on behalf of a foreign government. What is to be done about that?
It’s on, “March Madness!” Have you “ever seen a player who can’t miss a shot from anywhere in the court?”
“That player is making it rain – sinking shots seemingly outta nowhere,” anywhere, everywhere! Basically, “putting on a clinic,” i.e., Ray McGovern, w/a perfect shot, “Gabbard Defangs Ex-Intel Officials.”
“Making It Rain.” Imo, Ray McGovern’s got “B-Ball” shooting accuracy! From center court, McGovern shoots! “S W I S H!” ‘‘Nothin’ But Net,’ “Gabbard’s move will send a tidal wave through Washington D.C.’s Tidal Basin. Creatures of “The Swamp,” plus allies in the media and Democratic Party, will raise a din. No matter. The intelligence chiefs who corrupted the profession in which I once took pride had it coming.” (RAY McGOVERN, March 11, 2025). Absophknlutely!!!
No doubt, “The Swamp” has been schooled. More importantly, “RAY McGOVERN: Gabbard Defangs Ex-Intel Officials,” imo, is the “essence of March Madness, evoking a sense of reverence & excitement that resonates,” universally!!!
Thank you, Ray McGovern, CN, et al.
“The Big Dance” aka NCAA basketball tournament. The Owl asks, “WHO’S “winning?” “WHO’S going to “The Big Dance?” “ Trump-Vance?” The Bird tweets, “Everybody that goes to “The Big Dance” has a chance to win. Including, DUKE, 2025!”
Onward & Upwards!
Ray, don’t let your pride in CIA service be your downfall:
“Vengeance is mine I will repay” (Rom.12.19).
Zionist Israel/US/West genocide in Gaza makes all
guilty of the worst of crimes against humanity.
Tulsi Gabbard is a Zionist, what of all your work on
Israel’s Zionist inspired bombing of the USS Liberty (1967)?
And Trump is clearing Intelligence agencies for honest
elections? Maybe another look at the other Jan. 6.
Deep State’s Cheshire Cat maliciously smiles and fades away
when its damage is done
They all just run over to MSNBC and CNN to complain about it.
But Patel, now FBI director, pushes delusional nonsense about a stolen 2020 election, so he’s not a credible source, even if Gabbard is absolutely correct when she calls Russiagate BS.
Then remember that Gabbard endorse Trump because Biden’s sloppy withdrawal from Afghanistan killed US soldiers. From this I have to conclude that Gabbard supported the continuing wasteful, illegal, and stupid occupation of that country. No, Trump wouldn’t have done a better job, and he had 4 years to try.
… or maybe Patel is not so delusional about 2020.
His Russiagate opinions were considered ‘delusional nonsense’ at one point too. I’m not a big ‘stolen election’ guy, but maybe there is a bit more to know on that subject that Patel is privy to. Maybe ‘the blob’ was much more successful at covering their tracks on their 2020 election shenanigans than they were on their Russiagate or Covid shenanigans.
I know Trump got his butt whooped in court case after court case regarding the 2020 election, but that doesn’t mean that everything was above-board. It just means that nothing rose to the level of criminality or that Trump lacked the evidence to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. It also may mean that rather than it being a grand conspiracy as Trump charged, it was a non-conspiratorial confluence of vote counters independently deciding to put a thumb on the scale to keep the Bad Orange Man from winning a second term. The fact that there was no ‘conspiracy’ doesn’t mean there wasn’t some shady conduct.
… or maybe the 2020 election really was as pure as the driven snow. Who knows?
i’m glad we have someone like Ray McGovern on our side.
Agreed! Valerie,
When it comes to representation, “EXCELLENCE Is KEY!” &, Ray McGovern is 100% the “Excellence in Representation,” “we,” the people, want; &, Tulsi Gabbard, DNI, can TRUST!!!
….. “I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” Malcolm X
“Keep It Lit.”
Thankyou LeoSun. Your “march madness” reminded of the poem “cargoes” by John Masefield from 1902:
“Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rails, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.”
(an excerpt)
“The Past Is History. The Future Is a Mystery. Today, Is a Gift. That’s Why It’s Called, The Present.”
Thank you, Valerie, for turning us on to, “gifting” us w/“Cargoes,” by John Masefield.
Honestly, unfamiliar to me. Never Say Die! “Pay it Forward,” i.e., “The poem depicts 3 distinct ships fm different time periods & cultures. Each carrying a unique cargo. The first, a stately Spanish vessel, carries riches like gold and jewels, symbolizing the grandeur of the Spanish Empire. The second, a humble British ship, transports industrial goods, representing the rise of industrialization during the time period. The poem highlights the diverse nature of seafaring throughout history & the different ways in which it has contributed to the development of human society.” Hear! Hear!!! &, here:
“Cargoes,” by John Masefield
*“Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir, rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine, w/a cargo of ivory & apes & peacocks, sandalwood, cedarwood; &, sweet white wine.
Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus, dipping through the tropics by the palm-green shores, w/a cargo of Diamonds, Emeralds, Amythysts, Topazes; &, Cinnamon & Gold moidores-” (a former Portuguese or Brazilian gold coin that was also current in England in the early 1700s).
* “Quinquireme of Nineveh” is a great opening to a poem – a galley with five banks of oars travelling between Nineveh, the ancient city on the Tigris, and Ophir, a mysterious place, possibly on the African shore of the Red Sea.”
TY, Valerie, CN, et al. “Keep It Lit.”
Ten bucks says nobody goes to jail.
“While Clinton kept claiming that the evidence-free claims of the “Intelligence Community Assessment” were supported “by all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies”,”
I never found this Argument from Authority impressive. Rather the opposite.
“Creatures of “The Swamp,” plus allies in the media and Democratic Party, will raise a din. No matter. The intelligence chiefs who corrupted the profession in which I once took pride had it coming.” Goddamn right! They took whatever value the intelligence agencies had and lowered it to their own partisan level of self-serving mediocrity.
If I recall correctly didn’t Bush senior purge CIA of qualified competent CIA personnel and replaced them with lessor qualified competent colleagues?
Actually, it started with Russophobes William Casey and Robert Gates during Reagan.
Ray McGovern knows this history very well. Likely better than most others. The man never ceases to amaze me.
While I agree with hm about most all things I am somewhat concerned about the new DNI and her deep Zionist leanings. In my reality the beliefs of Zionists are greatly flawed, conversely her talents and personal strengths are indicative of strong leadership capability. Traits needed in her position. I still see her as a intriguing enigma, one I hope that does not disappoint.
I have had it with the constant war drumming of Israel while the country lays waste to anyone who will not bow the them. In addition I don’t see Zionism as being a good fit for the world today. I also view this as a big issue with Madam Director.
Tulsi same as many others can be replaced, she knows this. If she is an intelligent as she seems maybe we all are in for a pleasant surprise. Will she mellow with age?
I (we) don’t have much choice than to sit by and watch what happens. The king of the dumpster fire must go away though. During the next two years he and his ilk, could completely eviscerate the U.S. Federal systems with the help of his very wealthy little buddy bankrupt the country and all of the rest of us.
Thanks CN