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Gabbard Sends Criminal Referrals For 2019 Trump Impeachment Whistleblower, IG Coverup

On Monday, DNI Tulsi Gabbard and the House Intelligence Committee released declassified transcripts revealing that the whistleblower whose complaint about Trump and Zelensky's 'perfect call' as an extreme parisan who had a "prior professional relationship with one of the Democratic Presidential candidates," and despite those facts, former-Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) Michael Atkinson claimed "I did not find the complainant (whistleblower) was biased."

Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on July 23, 2025.Eric Lee / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Well, tonight they're the recipients of two criminal referrals. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesady referred who is believed to be former CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella - along with the former intelligence community inspector general who fast-tracked it - for potential criminal investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced Tuesday.

The referrals to the Justice Department, first reported by Fox News and confirmed by multiple officials familiar with the matter, come days after Gabbard’s office declassified more than seven-year-old transcripts and supporting documents that Democrats and the intelligence community had kept under wraps since the fall of 2019. The newly public records raise fresh questions about the origins and handling of the complaint that accused Trump of pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

NEW RECORDS VIA @DNIGabbard @RepRickCrawford ATKINSON TRANSCRIPTS

- First Trump Impeachment + Whistleblower Motive

Whistleblower met with Democrats on House Intelligence Committee (then led by Adam Schiff) BEFORE reporting his allegations to the Intelligence Community… pic.twitter.com/x7A1IxHLLO

— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) April 13, 2026

Ciaramella was a CIA analyst detailed to the National Security Council at the time. According to the declassified materials, he had no firsthand knowledge of Trump’s July 25, 2019, phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and instead relied on secondhand accounts from NSC colleagues. He was a registered Democrat who had previously worked on Ukraine policy under then-Vice President Biden - including traveling with him - and had pre-complaint contacts with Democratic staff on the House Intelligence Committee, including aides to then-Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the records show.

Former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who received the complaint in August 2019, is accused in the declassified files of deviating from standard procedures. He allegedly changed the whistleblower complaint form to accommodate hearsay information, ignored Justice Department guidance that the complaint did not qualify as an “urgent concern,” did not review the actual call transcript, and relied on a narrow set of interviews - including one with a witness who had co-authored the controversial 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian election interference and had ties to former FBI official Peter Strzok.

Gabbard, a Trump ally installed as DNI earlier this year, framed the declassification and referrals as long-overdue accountability.

“Deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative that was used by Congress to usurp the will of the American people and impeach the duly-elected President of the United States,” Gabbard said in a statement accompanying the release. “Inspector General Atkinson failed to uphold his responsibility to the American people, putting political motivations over the truth.”

The ODNI general counsel’s referral letter, obtained by outlets covering the story, cited possible violations of federal criminal law by “one or more former employees of the intelligence community,” specifically referencing Atkinson’s 2019 congressional briefings.

The declassified package - released by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence at the request of Chairman Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) following a March 24 committee vote - includes closed-door transcripts of Atkinson’s 2019 testimony before the panel. Those transcripts had been withheld from Trump’s defense team during the impeachment proceedings and from the broader public for more than seven years.

The move revives one of the most contentious chapters of Trump’s first term and comes as his second administration aggressively pursues investigations into perceived abuses by the intelligence community during the Russia investigation, the 2020 election challenges and both impeachments.

Schiff, now a senator from California, and other Democrats involved in the original impeachment have not yet commented publicly on the latest developments. A spokesman for the House Intelligence Committee under Democratic control in 2019 called the declassification “a partisan stunt designed to rewrite history.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 22:10

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Human Smuggler Extradited From Brazil To US: DOJ

Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A Bangladeshi national, alleged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to be a “prolific” alien smuggler, made his first appearance Monday in a Laredo, Texas, federal courtroom following his extradition from Brazil, according to a DOJ statement.

Illegal immigrants who are believed to have crossed the border from Mexico into the United States are seen after the truck they were being transported in was interdicted by law enforcement officers in Laredo, Texas, on Sept. 13, 2022. Department of Justice/Handout via Reuters

The indictment against Saiful Islam, 39, in the Southern District of Texas accuses him of being part of a conspiracy that smuggled numerous illegal immigrants through Central America to the United States, the DOJ said.

“Islam participated in a wide-ranging human smuggling operation,” the agency said.

The Bangladeshi man also allegedly helped other smugglers by facilitating the travel of aliens from São Paulo, Brazil, and other locations in South America, Central America, and Mexico, eventually instructing them in how to illegally cross the Rio Grande River or jump the border fence.

Islam’s charges include conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States, multiple counts of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain, and conspiracy to encourage or induce an alien to enter the United States, according to the DOJ statement. He also faces potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

A conviction on the charge of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three to five years in prison, depending on additional factors, and a maximum of 15 years.

Islam would face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the other two charges if he is convicted of them.

There is no listed attorney for Islam yet in his online docket, which shows his case was assigned to a judge in August 2020.

Several agencies are coordinating in the investigation of Islam, including Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection’s International Interdiction Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, and INTERPOL.

The DOJ credited its Joint Task Force Alpha, the agency’s lead effort in fighting human smuggling and trafficking by cartels and other criminal organizations, in investigating, charging, and prosecuting Islam.

Joint Task Force Alpha’s main goal is targeting leaders and organizers of cartels throughout the Americas, Mexico, and the “Northern Triangle countries” of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, the Justice Department said.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi announced last September an expansion of the agency to cover Canada, the Caribbean, maritime borders, and elsewhere.

“This Department of Justice is investigating and prosecuting human smuggling more aggressively than ever before,” Bondi said.

Joint Task Force Alpha has, to date, arrested more than 450 domestic and international leaders, organizers, and facilitators of alien smuggling or trafficking. According to the Monday DOJ statement, the agency’s work has resulted in more than 395 U.S. convictions, more than 345 “significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.”

Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 21:45

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Bessent Keeps Running Tally Of China As "Unreliable Global Partner" - Count Now Stands At Three

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters Tuesday that Beijing’s panic hoarding of crude and refined products, while refusing to join the rest of the world in releasing supplies to offset the Gulf energy shock, has now demonstrated for the third time in five years that China is an "unreliable global partner."

"China has been an unreliable global partner three times in the past five years; once during COVID, when they hoarded healthcare products, second on rare earth," Bessent said, referring to Beijing's move last year to weaponize rare earth exports against the US in the tit-for-tat trade war that disrupted US supply chains, including temporary factory shutdowns such as production lines briefly shuttered by Ford Motor Company.

Bessent said China continued to purchase tanker loads of crude instead of helping ease the global supply crunch caused by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, despite already holding a massive strategic reserve. He also noted that China restricted exports of crude products early in the conflict. 

Reuters noted that China's strategic petroleum reserve "was roughly the same size as that of the entire reserve held by the 32-member International Energy Agency, but it was continuing to purchase oil."

Bessent added, "They continued buying, and they've been hoarding, and they have cut off exports of many products." 

On US-China relations, he told reporters he's been in contact with Chinese officials about the hoarding issue. 

He declined to comment on whether the dispute and elevated tensions will derail an upcoming Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, which has been pushed to mid-May.

"I think the message for the visit is stability. We've had great stability in the relationship since last summer; that emanates from the top down," he said. "I think that communication is the key."

Bessent added that the US military blockade would ensure that no Chinese tankers or other ships would pass the strait: "So they're not going to be able to get their oil. They can get oil. Not Iranian oil." 

Last week, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol warned that governments must avoid panic hoarding and refrain from imposing fuel export bans as the Gulf energy shock continues to ripple outward to Asia, Africa, Europe, and eventually reaches the US West Coast.

"I urge all countries not to impose bans or restrictions on exports," Fatih Birol emphasized in a Financial Times interview. "It is the worst time when you look at the global oil markets. Their trade partners, their allies and their neighbors will suffer as a result."

The FT noted that Birol was "careful not to name China directly," but made very clear his warning was likely aimed at Beijing.

So Bessent is clearly keeping a running tally of Beijing’s behavior as an "unreliable global partner," and by his count, the number now stands at three.

What comes next is unclear, but the next signal will likely come from the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting.

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Tyler Durden Wed, 04/15/2026 - 21:20