Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has ordered the termination of intelligence community employees and the revocation of their security clearances following allegations that they participated in explicit discussions on a federal agency messaging platform.
The directive comes after chat logs from the National Security Agency’s (NSA) internal “Intelink” system surfaced, allegedly showing intelligence officials engaging in inappropriate conversations under the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The Explicit DEI Conversations That Shook the Intelligence Community
According to reports, more than 100 employees from agencies including the NSA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and U.S. Naval Intelligence took part in discussions that included graphic content about gender-reassignment surgeries, artificial genitalia, hormone therapy, and polyamorous relationships.
Some messages reportedly described personal experiences in explicit detail. The conversations were uncovered by the conservative Manhattan Institute, which cited sources within the NSA who provided access to the chat logs.
“There are over 100 people from across the intelligence community that contributed to and participated in… what is really just an egregious violation of trust,” Gabbard said on Jesse Watters Primetime. “What to speak of, like, basic rules and standards around professionalism.”
Gabbard’s Scathing Critique and Crackdown on Misuse of NSA Platform
Gabbard condemned the revelations as a serious breach of professional conduct, stating that those involved had “brazenly” misused the NSA platform.
“When you see what these people were saying… they were brazen in using an NSA platform intended for professional use to conduct this kind of really, really horrific behavior,” she said.
“And they were brazen in doing this because when was the last time anyone was really held accountable? Certainly not over the last four years, certainly not over the last 10, maybe 20 years.”
The NSA has confirmed that it is investigating the matter and acknowledged that, if verified, the misconduct would violate long-standing intelligence community policies.
“NSA hosts the Intelink service for the Intelligence Community,” an agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “As the service provider, NSA takes very seriously the allegations in this reporting, and, if accurate, they would be violations of long-standing Intelligence Community policy.
The Intelligence Community places great trust in those personnel that we authorize to access U.S. Government systems, and in return, we expect full compliance with all laws, policies, and regulations which govern our work.”
Gabbard’s Call for a Refocused Intelligence Community
The controversy comes amid the Trump administration’s recent executive order dismantling DEI programs in federal agencies.
Gabbard noted that the chat groups were immediately shut down following the directive, stating on X, formerly Twitter, that “these disgusting chat groups were immediately shut down when [the president] issued his EO ending the DEI insanity the Biden Admin was obsessed with.”
She emphasized that intelligence agencies must be singularly focused on their primary mission. “Our IC must be focused on our core mission: ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people,” she added.
Senior fellow Christopher Rufo of the Manhattan Institute, who helped expose the chat logs, described the groups as having been taken over by activists who prioritized ideological discussions over their official duties.
“The messages were part of DEI-focused employee resource groups that had been hijacked by activists who spent all day holding meetings with titles such as ‘Privilege,’ ‘Ally Awareness,’ ‘Pride,’ and ‘Transgender Community Inclusion,’” Rufo said, citing a source who leaked the chat logs.
One NSA source who reviewed the messages questioned whether individuals engaged in such discussions should hold top-secret security clearances. “These are folks with top-secret clearances believing they are an IT!” the source reportedly told Rufo.
Gabbard has signaled that the crackdown is only the beginning, stating that intelligence agencies must be held accountable and refocused on their core mission. “We are restoring accountability,” she said. “And we are making sure that the intelligence community is focused on what matters: protecting the American people.”
The investigation remains ongoing, and further actions may follow as authorities review the extent of the misconduct.
