Fact Check: Did the CIA conduct a raid on Tulsi Gabbard's office?
WASHINGTON, DC: A rumor has been circulating widely on social media platforms, claiming that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted a raid at the office of the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, recovering several sensitive documents. The claim has sparked speculation among many. Let us analyze and fact-check the claim.
Claim: CIA raided Tulsi Gabbard’s office
The claim surfaced during a discussion aired on Fox News, where it was alleged that “agents hauled out dozens of boxes” from Gabbard’s office.
The speaker claimed that “at Tulsi Gabbard’s office, Agents hauled out dozens of boxes, files on the JFK assassination and MK-Ultra, the CIA mind control operation, which she was in the process of declassifying.”
The discussion also cited claims made by whistleblower James Eardman III during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing, claiming the files were being prepared for public release before the CIA intervened.
The claim has been shared on several social media platforms, such as X and Facebook, garnering hundreds of thousands of views, and has even been reported by some news media outlets.
Fact Check: The claim is baseless and unsupported by evidence
The claim, however, is fake as they are baseless and not supported by credible evidence. A search on Google for the claim showed no credible reports by prominent media outlets such as CNN, Reuters, etc, or any official statements from the department about the developments.
In response to the allegations, DNI Press Secretary Olivia Coleman said on X, “This is false - the CIA did not raid the DNI’s office.”
Anna Paulina Luna threatens CIA subpoena over alleged file seizure
Meanwhile, Representative Anna Paulina Luna said she would subpoena the CIA if the agency does not return the seized files to the department’s office.
In a post on X, Luna stated, “Given the nature of the docs in question, we are sending a preservation notice. Docs need to be returned to ODNI, given that ODNI was given direction and authority by the President to declass RFK, MLK, & JFK."
"Regarding MKULTRA, these were documents specifically requested by my Task Force and currently being used for our investigation.”
"The reason why this is troubling, A) there was an executive order that the president directed the full declassification of JFK, but then also to the MK-Ultra files, famously, the CIA said that all documents were released and other documents had been destroyed," Luna told NewsNation.
