Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard criticized a Washington Post reporter on Thursday over the journalist’s reporting, calling her “a clear political op.”
Post reporter Ellen Nakashima “appears to be actively harassing ODNI staff,” Gabbard wrote Thursday on social media, referring to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“Instead of reaching out to my press office, she is calling high level Intelligence Officers from a burner phone, refusing to identify herself, lying about the fact that she works for the Washington Post, and then demanding they share sensitive information,” Gabbard said.
“Apparently, publishing leaked classified material wasn’t enough for the Washington Post, so now they’ve decided to go after the Intelligence professionals charged to protect it,” she added.
Nakashima has an extensive history of reporting on matters of national security and is a member of three Pulitzer-prize-winning teams at the Post.
In a statement responding to Gabbard, Post executive editor Matt Murray defended Nakashima’s work.
“For three decades, Ellen Nakashima has been one of the most careful, fair-minded, and highly regarded reporters covering national security,” Murray said. “Reaching out to potential sources rather than relying solely on official government press statements regarding matters of public interest is neither nefarious nor is it harassment. It is basic journalism.”
Murray called Gabbard’s attack “unfounded” and “personal” saying it “reflects a fundamental misunderstanding about the role of journalists to report on government officials and hold power to account, without fear or favor and regardless of party.”
Â
