"Actively Harassing Intel Officials": Tulsi Gabbard Slams Washington Post Reporter

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has accused a senior reporter working with The Washington Post of harassing intelligence officials and using deceptive tactics to gather information. Gabbard alleged that Ellen Nakashima bypassed official channels, used “a burner phone” to call senior intelligence officers and refused to identify herself.

“It has come to my attention that Washington Post reporter @nakashimae appears to be actively harassing ODNI staff,” Gabbard wrote in a post on X.

She added, “Instead of reaching out to my press office, she is calling high-level Intelligence Officers from a burner phone, refusing to identify herself, lying about the fact that she works for the Washington Post, and then demanding they share sensitive information.”

She further accused the leading daily of engaging in politically motivated journalism. “This is a clear political op by the same outlet and the same reporter who harassed and stalked my family in Hawaii,” Gabbard claimed in the post.

She concluded by saying, “This kind of deranged behaviour reflects a media establishment so desperate to sabotage @POTUS's successful agenda that they've abandoned even a facade of journalistic integrity and ethics. The Washington Post should be ashamed, and they should put an end to this immediately.”

It has come to my attention that Washington Post reporter @nakashimae appears to be actively harassing ODNI staff. Instead of reaching out to my press office, she is calling high level Intelligence Officers from a burner phone, refusing to identify herself, lying about the fact…

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) July 3, 2025

Ellen Nakashima, a reporter with decades of experience in national security reporting, has been part of three Pulitzer Prize-winning teams at The Washington Post, The Hill reported. Her reporting credentials include sensitive coverage of intelligence operations and foreign threats.

In response to Gabbard's accusations, The Washington Post's executive editor Matt Murray issued a statement defending Nakashima's work and condemning the Director of National Intelligence's remark. 

“For three decades, Ellen Nakashima has been one of the most careful, fair-minded, and highly regarded reporters covering national security,” said Murray, according to The Hill. “Reaching out to potential sources rather than relying solely on official government press statements regarding matters of public interest is neither nefarious nor is it harassment. It is basic journalism.”

Murray described Gabbard's post as “unfounded” and “personal,” adding that it “reflects a fundamental misunderstanding about the role of journalists to report on government officials and hold power to account, without fear or favour and regardless of party.”

The confrontation echoes recent tensions between members of the Trump administration and journalists. In June, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth criticised reporters during a news conference, claiming they were deliberately undermining the success of American military operations against Iranian nuclear sites.

Trump also publicly demanded that CNN fire national security correspondent Natasha Bertrand over her reporting on the Defence Intelligence Agency's assessments.

In response, CNN said it stood “100% behind Natasha Bertrand's journalism”.