The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department related to a whistleblower complaint that helped trigger President Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment, his first, ostensibly tied to a phone call he held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reports said this week.
The referrals also include former intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson, who notified Congress of the allegations.
“I want to refer information that may constitute possible criminal activity in violation of federal criminal law committed by one or more former employees of the intelligence community,” the agency’s general counsel wrote. The referral cited concerns tied to actions described in congressional briefings during the 2019 impeachment process, Fox News reported.
Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show the referrals reference Atkinson’s briefings before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Those briefings took place during the 116th Congress as lawmakers examined the whistleblower complaint.
The referrals follow the release of newly declassified records by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Officials said the materials detail what they described as a coordinated effort within elements of the intelligence community tied to the impeachment.
An intelligence official said the referral language is broad but is focused on Atkinson and the whistleblower. The complaint centered on President Donald Trump’s July 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Gabbard pointed to the documents in a social media post when asked about the referrals.
“Newly-declassified records expose how deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative,” she wrote.
The Justice Department has not publicly responded to the referrals. Officials have not indicated whether an investigation has been opened.
The released materials include transcripts of Atkinson’s closed-door testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. Those transcripts were later made public following a vote led by committee chairman Rick Crawford.
During his testimony, Atkinson addressed his handling of the whistleblower complaint. He said the complaint met the legal standard required to notify Congress.
“I determined that the complaint related to an urgent concern,” Atkinson said in his testimony. He said the determination was based on the information available at the time.
Atkinson acknowledged that the whistleblower did not have firsthand knowledge of the events described. He said the complaint relied on accounts from multiple U.S. officials who were deemed credible.
“I was not a direct witness to most of the events described,” the whistleblower complaint stated. Atkinson said those secondhand accounts were consistent and supported further review.
Atkinson also said the whistleblower showed potential signs of political bias. Despite that, he said the law did not require him to dismiss the complaint on that basis.
The complaint, filed in August 2019, raised concerns about Trump’s call with Zelenskyy. It included allegations that Trump encouraged investigations involving former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
Democrats argued the request amounted to a quid pro quo tied to U.S. military aid. Trump and his allies rejected that characterization and said the call was appropriate.
Biden has said his actions regarding Ukraine were part of official U.S. policy at the time. He described pressuring Ukraine to remove a prosecutor during a 2018 event.
“I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion,’” Biden recalled. He said the prosecutor was removed after the warning.
House Republicans raised concerns during the impeachment process about the whistleblower’s contact with congressional staff. They questioned interactions involving then-Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.
Schiff acknowledged contact but said it did not influence the handling of the complaint. He described the communication as limited in nature.
The whistleblower complaint was later declassified and released publicly. It stated that the information was based largely on secondhand accounts from multiple officials.
General Michael Flynn is calling for a raid on the Washington, D.C., mansion of former President Obama.
“Just as was done to President Trump when they raided his home at Mar-A-Lago because they thought that there was … and they planted evidence there in that case, but I do think that what the DOJ should be considering if not getting ready to conduct is a raid of Barack Obama’s home up there at Kalorama in Washington DC,” he said to podcast host Benny Johnson.
The general proceeded to accuse the former president of managing former President Joe Biden’s White House from his home in D.C.
“Those are, you know, things that need to be considered right now,” the general said. “I was ready to wake up this morning to hear about some of these raids that should have been going on.
“There should, at a minimum, be a task force assembled of federal law enforcement authorities as well as an assigned, dedicated prosecutor at the DOJ level, at the attorney general level/. Someone who is working directly for her and for the President of the United States. This has got to happen very quickly,” he said.
On “Sunday Morning Futures,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) detailed what crime might have been done in reaction to what Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has described as a “treasonous conspiracy” by high-level officials to sabotage Trump’s first term.
“There needs to be criminal prosecution and arrests. Lying under oath, putting out a false intelligence report — that’s a violation of 18 U.S. Code 1001,” Luna told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo.
“There needs to be arrests. This is not partisan. This is simply illegal, what they did, and we’re simply upholding the law,” Luna said.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is running to become Florida governor in the 2026 election, agreed with Luna during their joint appearance.
“There need to be arrests on this matter. People need to go to jail on this because this is about the republic,” Donalds said. “This is not about one president — it is about the presidency and the continuation of our country.”
WATCH:
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is vowing to release more information this week in addition to her bombshell declassification of documents that show “overwhelming evidence” that former President Barack Obama’s administration laid the groundwork for the years-long Trump-Russia collusion investigation after Trump won the 2016 election.
“We will be releasing more detailed information about how exactly this took place, and the extent to which this information was sought to be hidden from the American people, hidden from officials who would be in a position to do something about it,” Gabbard told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.
“Accountability is essential for the future of our country, for the American people to have any sense of trust in the integrity of our democratic republic. Accountability, action, prosecution, and indictments for those who are responsible for trying to steal our democracy is essential for us to make sure that this never happens to our country again,” Gabbard continued.
“I really cannot fathom” how special counsels Robert Mueller and John Durham missed evidence of this “years-long coup against President Trump,” Gabbard added.
“There is no rational or logical explanation for why they failed,” Gabbard said, adding, “The only logical conclusion that I can draw in this … is that there was direct intent to cover up the truth about what occurred and who was responsible and the broad network of how this seditious conspiracy was concocted and who exactly was responsible for carrying it out.”