Gabbard Dismisses Officials for Leaking Memo Challenging Trump’s Venezuela Cartel Claims | US Government

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has dismissed the top two officials at the National Intelligence Council (NIC) just weeks after the council released an assessment that contradicted Donald Trump’s justification for using the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without due process. The firings came shortly after a declassified memo from the NIC found no coordination between Venezuela’s government and the Tren de Aragua gang, which directly opposed the reasoning given by the Trump administration for invoking the Alien Enemies Act. Gabbard’s office stated that the officials, Mike Collins and Maria Langan-Riekhof, were fired due to their opposition to the president, as part of an effort to end the weaponization and politicization of the intelligence community. Both officials had over 25 years of experience in intelligence. The dismissal of senior officials has raised concerns in the US congress, with Rep. Jim Himes stating that without evidence to justify the firings, the workforce would conclude that their jobs are contingent on producing analysis aligned with the President’s political agenda rather than truthful and apolitical assessments.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/14/tuli-gabbard-trump-national-intelligence-firings