Tulsi Gabbard’s right-hand man urged intelligence officials to change their findings on Venezuelan gang activity in order to align with statements President Trump has made on immigration. The reports suggest that Gabbard’s acting chief of staff, Joe Kent, offered the unusual instructions for the National Intelligence Council on April 3.
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Tulsi Gabbard’s aide under scanner
A senior adviser to Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence, acknowledged in a March 24 email that while there is no concrete evidence the Venezuelan government directly instructed a gang linked to recent deportation actions, the connection to Caracas is “common sense”, according to Reuters.
President Donald Trump has cited alleged coordination between the Venezuelan government, led by President Nicolás Maduro, and the gang Tren de Aragua to justify the use of the Alien Enemies Act. This legal move has enabled the deportation of suspected gang members to a high-security prison in El Salvador. However, some legal experts argue that invoking the act necessitates a demonstrable link to a foreign government.
In an email, Kent wrote, “We need to do some rewriting so this document is not used against the DNI or POTUS,” referring to Director of National Intelligence Gabbard and the President. The document in question was an intelligence assessment concerning Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang targeted by one of the Trump administration’s most aggressive immigration enforcement actions.ALSO READ: Trump’s ‘Big, beautiful bill’ is here: Who are the top gainers and losers? Check details
On March 15, President Trump invoked the rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — previously implemented only during wartime — through a proclamation that authorized the apprehension and removal of noncitizens deemed “alien enemies.” This measure applied to all Venezuelan nationals aged 14 and older who were not US citizens or lawful permanent residents and were suspected of links to Tren de Aragua. Trump partly justified this move by suggesting that the gang was supported or enabled by the Venezuelan government. While the Alien Enemies Act was enacted to prevent foreign espionage, the Trump administration has invoked it as the legal basis for the deportation of hundreds of alleged gang members.
Trump’s intelligence assessment contradicted
However, a February 26 intelligence assessment contradicted this narrative. The National Intelligence Council (NIC), which synthesizes information from agencies including the CIA, FBI, and NSA, concluded in both its original and revised reports that the Venezuelan government “probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States.”
While FBI analysts expressed some dissent, citing that certain Venezuelan officials may assist TDA members in migrating, the broader intelligence community found no credible evidence of official government coordination with the gang.
“Intelligence indicating that regime leaders are directing or enabling TDA migration to the United States is not credible,” the report stated. The NIC noted that there was no evidence of communications or financial transactions that would suggest an organized relationship between the Venezuelan government and the gang.
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Despite this, Kent pressed intelligence officials, including then-acting NIC Director Michael Collins, to reinforce the claim that the Venezuelan government was deliberately facilitating immigration to the US, regardless of gang affiliation.
“Flooding our nation with ‘migrants,’ particularly those associated with a violent gang, is an act of hostility — even if the Venezuelan government isn’t directly directing TDA operations,” Kent argued in one email.
This assertion was also challenged in the NIC report, which stated that Venezuelans typically migrate voluntarily, risking their lives to escape political instability and economic collapse.
After The New York Times published a story in late March highlighting the discrepancies between the intelligence assessment and Trump’s claims, Kent began discussing potential edits to the report. According to the Times, he and Collins exchanged emails on April 3 and 4 about revising the language.
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“Let’s just come out and say TDA leaders are given sanctuary in Venezuela as their gang members commit horrendous crimes in America,” Kent wrote. “Then we can provide the context about our exact knowledge of the relationship between TDA and the Venezuelan government.”
Despite these efforts, the final version of the report — released publicly on May 5 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request — still contradicted Trump’s narrative about government collusion.
A week after its release, Gabbard dismissed both Collins and his deputy, Maria Langan-Riekhof. In response, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a statement condemning the firings as politically motivated retaliation.
“Absent evidence to justify the firings, the workforce can only conclude that their jobs are contingent on producing analysis that aligns with the President’s political agenda, rather than being grounded in truth and impartiality,” he wrote.
