Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Feb 11: US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has wound down a task force she launched last year to address alleged politicisation within intelligence agencies, a move that comes amid criticism and heightened political scrutiny, according to a Reuters report.
Gabbard told Reuters on Tuesday that members of the Director’s Initiatives Group (DIG) have been reassigned to other roles within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The task force, which critics described as a vehicle for partisan attacks under the Trump administration, was shut after internal reviews, though officials denied any wrongdoing.
“The Director’s Initiatives Group was created as a temporary effort to surge resources to deliver on high-priority projects with near-term deadlines, including Presidential Executive Orders,” Gabbard said. She added that expertise from the group would now be utilised across ODNI teams to continue delivering results aligned with the agency’s mission.
Two sources told Reuters that the decision to wrap up the DIG followed alleged missteps, a claim rejected by an ODNI spokesperson, who said the group was always intended to be temporary. The spokesperson also denied allegations of errors and said the agency would provide required information to Congress.
The DIG had drawn scrutiny from lawmakers over its structure and operations. In December, Congress passed legislation requiring Gabbard to submit a classified report detailing the group’s leadership, staffing and hiring practices. While the deadline was missed, the ODNI said the information would still be shared.
The disclosure comes at a sensitive time for Gabbard, with Democrats raising concerns over her presence during a January 28 FBI raid on a Georgia county’s election archive. Reuters has also reported that her office oversaw an investigation last year into voting machines in Puerto Rico.
While the White House has defended Gabbard’s role in reviewing election security, Democratic leaders have accused her of exceeding the intelligence agency’s mandate and warned of possible interference in future elections.
Supporters of the DIG have pointed to achievements such as the declassification of files related to the assassination of former US President John F Kennedy and the implementation of several executive orders issued by President Donald Trump. Critics, however, viewed the group’s efforts to root out politicisation as partisan.
The DIG also faced controversy after ODNI claimed it had declassified documents suggesting former President Barack Obama influenced intelligence assessments on Russian interference in the 2016 election, an allegation contradicted by multiple official reviews and denied by Obama.
Sources further alleged that the task force made errors, including mistakenly linking a federal security worker to pipe bomb incidents ahead of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, and revealing the identity of an undercover CIA officer. ODNI denied both claims, saying legal protocols were followed and no agency affiliation was disclosed.