Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Donald Trump requested that she briefly observe the FBI’s execution of a search warrant at Fulton County’s elections facility near Atlanta on Jan. 28, and she told congressional intelligence leaders that she did not direct the operation.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, said she was present for part of the FBI’s Jan. 28 search at Fulton County’s main elections facility in Union City, Georgia, after President Donald Trump asked her to attend.
In a letter to Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat and top Republican, respectively, on the Senate and House intelligence committees, Gabbard wrote that she “accompanied” senior FBI officials while agents carried out the court-authorized action. She said her role was limited to observation and that she did not give instructions to agents or participate in operational decisions.
According to the letter, Gabbard was with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and Atlanta’s acting special agent in charge, Pete Ellis, for a “brief period of time” during the warrant’s execution. She said her presence was tied to what she described as her statutory responsibilities involving election security and related counterintelligence, foreign influence and cybersecurity issues, and that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s general counsel concluded her actions were within her legal authorities.
Gabbard also said that during a visit to the FBI’s Atlanta field office, she facilitated a short phone call in which Trump thanked personnel for their work and did not ask questions or issue directives.
The FBI confirmed at the time that it was carrying out a “court authorized law enforcement action” at the county elections site but did not publicly describe the scope of the search. Local reporting and subsequent national coverage said the activity centered on records tied to the 2020 election.
Gabbard’s disclosure drew criticism from some Democrats, who questioned why the director of national intelligence would be present at a domestic law-enforcement search. In a separate letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Democratic lawmakers from Georgia called for an inquiry and a briefing on the justification for the operation and on Gabbard’s involvement.
In her account to Warner and Himes, Gabbard argued that “election security is a national security issue” and said the intelligence community was reviewing information about vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems and other risks that could be exploited. She said the intelligence community planned to provide Congress with its assessments once completed.
Some additional details described in Gabbard’s letter—such as the identity of the federal court and the warrant being under seal—could not be independently confirmed from public court filings at the time of reporting.
