Following Reports of Partisan Interference and Infiltration of Intelligence Community Inspector General’s Office, Acting Ranking Member Lynch Demands Assurance of Independence
Washington, D.C. (June 5, 2025)— Today, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Acting Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Acting Inspector General Tamara A. Johnson demanding all relevant documentation concerning the appointment of a highly partisan “senior advisor” to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (IC IG) by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Tulsi Gabbard. Notably, the oversight and investigation of ODNI falls under the IC IG’s jurisdiction, a responsibility that is impeded by the appointment of a “senior advisor” who reports all the agency’s actions directly to ODNI’s leading authority, Tulsi Gabbard. This effectively prevents the IC IG from holding ODNI accountable, eliminating a critical check on the agency’s power.
“The ‘senior advisor’ purportedly sits in IC IG’s offices and attends IC IG meetings but reports to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard. The Committee has also learned that ODNI last month placed the IC IG’s Acting General Counsel on involuntary administrative leave as she was working to address independence issues between the ODNI and the IC IG. We further understand that ODNI intended for this newly appointed ‘senior advisor’ to assume the duties previously held by the IC IG’s Acting General Counsel,” wrote Acting Ranking Member Lynch.
Combined with other partisan maneuvers within these agencies in recent months, this appointment raises significant concerns about the Trump Administration’s infiltration of the intelligence community and threats to the country’s national security.
This appointment comes only weeks after the Committee sent Ms. Johnson a letter requesting a comprehensive investigation into the use of Signal following the discovery that Director Gabbard and other senior national security officials use the application to discuss highly confidential and sensitive military operations. Further, Director Gabbard’s termination of two top intelligence officials— who oversaw an assessment directly contradicting President Trump—illustrates a concerning pattern of political interference in two of the government’s top intelligence agencies.
Additionally, it was discovered that the “senior advisor,” Dennis Kirk, co-authored a chapter on central personnel agencies for The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and was involved in the first Trump Administration’s adoption of Schedule F, which targeted the jobs of tens of thousands nonpartisan career civil servants. Mr. Kirk’s clear partisan alignment combined with his direct reporting on IC IG activities to Director Gabbard raise serious concerns over the Trump Administration’s partisan influence and overreach in a vital intelligence agency.
“The appointment of a highly partisan advocate for prioritizing personal loyalty to President Trump above independence and professionalism in the federal government—and one who apparently answers to DNI Gabbard rather than to you—in a senior role within IC IG raises troubling questions about the independence of the IC IG and whether there exists a need for Congress to strengthen protections for the IC IG’s independence,” added Acting Ranking Member Lynch.
The recurrence of political maneuvering and elimination of oversight power within these intelligence agencies demonstrates how partisan officials will continuously compromise national intelligence and security to remain in the favor of the Trump Administration.
Acting Ranking Member Lynch requests that Ms. Johnson’s investigation address Committee Democrats’ original inquiry from April 29, 2025, and additional requested information to determine the legality and purpose of Mr. Kirk’s appointment.
Click here to read the letter to Acting Inspector General Tamara A. Johnson.
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