Gabbard fires intel officials who oversaw memo contradicting White House claims on Venezuelan gang

The officials fired by Tulsi Gabbard oversaw an assessment contradicting President Trump’s rationale for invoking the Alien Enemies Act.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired two top intelligence officials who oversaw a recent intelligence assessment which contradicted President Donald Trump’s assertions that the gang Tren de Aragua is operating under the direction of the Venezuelan regime, two officials said Wednesday.

The assessment undermined the rationale for Trump invoking a rarely used 1798 law, the Alien Enemies Act, to allow suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members in the U.S. to be summarily deported without standard due process. 

Gabbard dismissed Michael Collins, the acting chair of the National Intelligence Council, and council vice chair Maria Langan-Riekhof, both career officials with decades of experience in intelligence analysis, two officials said.

“She dismissed these individuals because they were unable to provide unbiased intelligence,” one of the officials said, without elaborating.

Gabbard’s deputy chief of staff, Alexa Henning, said in a social media post that they were dismissed “because they politicized intelligence.”