The Intelligence System and Why Tulsi Gabbard Was Essentially the First DNI
25th May 2026
Against the backdrop of Tulsi Gabbard resigning her position as Director of National Intelligence, there is an opportunity to explain how the Washington DC Intelligence Community functions in real life.
ODNI Tulsi Gabbard has rightly been receiving a lot of praise for her efforts at removing the shroud of secrecy that is often used by an intensely territorial IC network. Simultaneously, she has received criticism or what Machiavelli called, “the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution”; because, in reality Tulsi Gabbard might be considered the first functional DNI.
It was DNI Tulsi Gabbard who released the receipts showing how the CIA and IC ran an impeachment operation against President Trump. CIA operative Eric Ciarmella, ICIG Michael Atkinson and HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff all collaboratively involved.
Here it becomes more important for the next sequence of events to fully understand what it was about Tulsi Gabbard in the position of DNI that made such a big difference. What was it about her approach to the office of the DNI that made Gabbard stand out? This is a discussion worth having.