U.S. adviser reportedly pushed officials to rewrite intelligence so it would not be used against Trump

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: May 21, 2025 7:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

A apical advisor to Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. manager of nationalist intelligence, acknowledged successful a March 24 email that the Venezuelan authorities whitethorn not person specifically directed the activities of a pack that the Trump medication has utilized to warrant fast-tracking deportations of immigrants, but argued that a nexus betwixt Caracas and the pack was "common sense."

U.S. President Donald Trump has utilized a assertion that Tren de Aragua is co-ordinating its U.S. activities with the Venezuelan authorities of President Nicolas Maduro to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to warrant deportations of alleged pack members to a maximum-security situation successful El Salvador. Some ineligible scholars person argued invoking the enactment requires a transportation to a overseas government.

WATCH | How Trump is interpreting a 1798 instrumentality to debar the modular migration tribunal system: 

In the email, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the substance and confirmed by a 2nd source, Gabbard's acting main of unit Joe Kent asked for a "rethink" of an quality appraisal contradicting the administration's statement that Venezuela is liable for the U.S. activities of Tren de Aragua pack members.

"I would similar to recognize however immoderate IC [intelligence community] element arrived astatine the decision that the Venezuelan authorities doesn't enactment and did not orchestrate TDA operating successful the U.S.," Kent said successful the email, referring to Tren de Aragua.

"Flooding our federation with migrants and particularly migrants who are portion of a convulsive transgression pack is the enactment of a hostile federation adjacent if the authorities of Venezuela isn't specifically tasking oregon enabling TDA operations."

He added that analysts needed to nutrient a caller appraisal connected the pack that "reflects basal communal sense."

The New York Times was the archetypal to study connected Kent's communications with the National Intelligence Council, the quality community's highest analytical body. Reuters is the archetypal to people the contents of that email successful detail.

The speech underscores the grade to which Kent, a erstwhile CIA officer, pushed Michael Collins, the caput of the National Intelligence Council, and different DNI officials to redo their assessment, taking into relationship points that had antecedently been articulated publically by Trump.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence called the timeline presented successful this communicative "false and fabricated," and called Kent "an American patriot who continues to honourably service our country."

"President Trump rightfully designated Tren de Aragua arsenic a overseas violent enactment based connected quality assessments and, frankly, communal sense," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

In his email, Kent argued that it would beryllium logical for Venezuela, a U.S. adversary, to nonstop pack members crossed the border, saying that immoderate state seeking to harm the United States "would people instrumentality their atrocious actors and nonstop them to our nation."

"When Biden announced that the borderline was unfastened I deliberation we fto a quest for ... nonstop links betwixt the Venezuelan authorities and TDA obstruct basal communal sense," helium wrote, adding that the National Intelligence Council needed to commencement "looking astatine getting a caller appraisal written connected TDA and their narration with the authorities of Venezuela that reflects basal communal sense."

While Trump's predecessor Joe Biden faced precocious levels of amerciable migration during his presidency, his medication besides took steps to discourage amerciable borderline crossings and promote migrants to participate the U.S. legally.

In consequent emails with ODNI officials, Kent besides said that Gabbard needs to beryllium "protected" successful the rewriting process, according to 2 radical acquainted with the matter.

The New York Times precocious Tuesday reported that successful 1 email, Kent ordered analysts to "do immoderate rewriting" of the appraisal and much analytical enactment truthful that "this papers is not utilized against" Gabbard oregon Trump.

Kent's emails were successful effect to a February National Intelligence Council appraisal connected the taxable — one of astatine slightest 2 successful caller months — that took into information investigation by agencies similar the Central Intelligence Agency, the FBI and the National Security Agency.

The archetypal was published internally Feb. 26 and made nationalist via reporting by the New York Times successful March. It said that the quality assemblage did not find that the pack was controlled by the Venezuelan government.

The second, published April 7 and made nationalist earlier this period via the Freedom of Information Act, added much discourse and nuance but confirmed the quality community's archetypal assessment, 2 radical acquainted with the concern said.

Unclear wherefore Trump statements contradicted his ain agencies' findings

Collins, the NIC chief, was removed from his station arsenic acting chair of the National Intelligence Council past week on with his vice-chair, Maria Langan-Riekhof.

It's not wide who ordered the archetypal quality appraisal oregon wherefore Trump aboriginal made statements that contradicted his ain quality agencies' findings.

It's communal for the White House — nether immoderate medication — to inquire its quality assemblage to gully up reports connected assorted nationalist information matters.

Traditionally, quality agencies are tasked with producing assessments without governmental interference oregon bias truthful the president and his apical nationalist information officials tin marque much informed decisions.

The removals person sparked consternation successful the precocious echelons of the quality community, according to 3 radical acquainted with the matter.

Both Collins and Langan-Riekhof person been accused publically by ODNI for politicizing intelligence.

But 2 radical acquainted with the concern said Kent pressured Collins to redo the archetypal quality appraisal to much intimately align with the administration's nationalist rhetoric. Collins, contempt that request, held steadfast and alternatively supported the spy agencies' archetypal findings.

"It's wide that Collins got axed for conscionable doing his job," 1 erstwhile elder U.S. quality authoritative said. "Collins is respected passim the full assemblage and has a agelong past of moving connected pugnacious problems with the highest of integrity."

The radical were granted anonymity truthful they could talk much freely astir the interior deliberations surrounding the Tren de Aragua assessment.