Intercepted foreign spy call referenced Trump associate, whistleblower lawyer says
Donald Trump (Photo: REUTERS/Ken Cedeno)
U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted a phone call
involving foreign intelligence services in 2025 that mentioned a person close
to President Donald Trump, The
Guardian reported on Feb. 8, citing an attorney for a whistleblower
familiar with the intelligence.
According to attorney Andrew Bakaj, details of the
intercepted call were shared with U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi
Gabbard. Instead of following standard procedures for distributing intelligence
within the intelligence community, Bakaj said, Gabbard passed a paper copy of
the materials directly to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Bakaj said that on the following day Gabbard ordered the
National Security Agency not to distribute the intelligence further and
instructed that all related materials be routed directly to her office.
Bakaj initially said the intercepted conversation took place
between a foreign intelligence officer and a person close to Trump. After
publication, he clarified that the NSA intercepted a call between two foreign
intelligence officers in which a person close to Trump’s White House was
mentioned. Sources said that individual is not a U.S. administration official and
does not hold special government employee status.
The NSA does not, according to Bakaj, conduct interceptions without
legal grounds and noted that he regularly advises members of the intelligence
community on legal matters. He previously worked in the CIA inspector general’s
office.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence told The
Guardian that the reported information was false, saying all of Gabbard’s
actions fell within her lawful authority and describing the publication as a
politically motivated attempt to manipulate classified information.
Gabbard has previously publicly rejected media reports about
U.S. intelligence assessments of the goals of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin
in the war against Ukraine, including conclusions that Russia seeks to seize
all of Ukraine and restore influence over parts of Europe.
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