Posted originally on CTH on June 18, 2025 | Sundance

For the sake of urgency I’m going to talk in direct and bold terms about the targeting of Tulsi Gabbard.  The IC system is attempting to remove her as a disruptive influence by using Iran as a wedge to get her out, but the issue they have with Director Gabbard has nothing to do with Iran.

CTH approaches this after being very concerned about Tulsi Gabbard’s ability.  Not because of intent, but rather we doubted her understanding of the scope of the IC opposition aligned against an effective Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Gabbard started out with these weaknesses, but she learned quickly – grasped the opposition– and has become a transformative force within the Intelligence Community.  Director Gabbard’s recent efforts within the Intelligence Community Inspector General office is another feather in her cap of competence.  Gabbard is now a threat.

If President Trump allows or supports the removal of DNI Gabbard, he is opening up the backplate of his armor, and making himself vulnerable.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Chairman Tom Cotton, the disassembled National Intelligence Council and a host of Intelligence Community embeds would like to see Gabbard removed.   DC wants to see her removed because the traditional role of the DNI has been a willfully blind tool of the Intelligence Community; Gabbard is not that.

As DNI Mrs Tulsi Gabbard has ♦ chased down intelligence community leakers, ♦ released the JFK files, ♦ released Joe Biden’s domestic terrorism surveillance plan, ♦ intercepted an NIC plot to impeach President Trump (confirmed by Rubio), ♦ taken control of the Presidential Daily Briefing, ♦ and more recently begun to confront the weaponized corruption within the IC Inspector General organization. These are actions, not words, and those actions speak boldly.  Suffice to say, her effectiveness has placed a target on her back.

In the past few weeks, ever since she began intercepting the ICIG issues and using her own personnel to monitor the IC network, she has been targeted with several direct smear campaigns. It is obvious the targeting is coming from inside the intelligence apparatus, and perhaps even the orbit around/under CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Tulsi Gabbard did make a strange video about nuclear weapons contrast against the horrific outcomes in Japan, but that seemed to be more of a personal video entry expressing a deep concern about nuclear weapons from her own perspectives.  I said it was weird when I saw it, but I put that expression into the context of ‘surfboard Tulsi‘, the DNI peacenik. No biggie.

However, with the Israel -v- Iran conflict encompassing the White House, there is a transparent objective to weaponize Tulsi Gabbard’s activity as a contrast against President Trump supporting military conflict in Iran.

This contrast is being stimulated by the same elements who want to see her removed for the reasons noted above.

The latest narrative du jour in the files includes:

WASHINGTON DC – […] Trump has increasingly mused about nixing Gabbard’s office completely, an idea he floated when he gave her the job. In the White House there have been discussions about folding its mandate into the CIA or another agency, according to one of the people familiar with his response to the video and two others familiar with the matter — though it’s unclear what that would mean for Gabbard. The Director of National Intelligence serves as the president’s principal intelligence adviser and oversees the sprawling U.S. spy community. (link)

First, “nixing Gabbard’s office completely” is exactly what the bad elements of the Intelligence Community would love to see.  Second, “folding its mandate into the CIA” is like a dream come true for the darkest elements of the IC and Senate enablers. And Third, “serves as the president’s principal intelligence adviser” is false.  That’s the job of the National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio.

If there is one hope amid this looming and increasing drumbeat to remove her, it is that Marco Rubio likely can see exactly what the motives and intentions are from his former colleagues.  The elements targeting DNI Gabbard all come from SSCI Chairman Marco Rubio’s old tribe.

SoS/NSA Rubio might save her, as too may Vice President JD Vance.  Both of them are at the perfect distance to see the assembled drumbeat against Gabbard for what it is, a coordinated Intelligence Community operation.  At least that is my hope.

I am not confident they will succeed removing her.  However, what I am confident about is that if DNI Tulsi Gabbard is removed, she will not be replaced, and that’s as good as a win for the bad actors trying to target and survive Trump.

President Trump has no more juice or influence in the Senate.  That time is over.  Trump has exhausted all of the political capital he held in the upper chamber.  Every Republican Senator now smiles, nods and does whatever the heck they want regardless of how it impacts President Trump.  This is especially true for the SSCI who would control confirmation of a DNI replacement.  They Republicans do not have to pretend any longer, Trump’s juice is gone.

If President Trump allows the Brutus crew in his orbit to isolate, ridicule and marginalize Tulsi Gabbard, he will be putting a significant part of his administration at risk.  This is the Six Ways from Sunday crowd.