Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fired two top officials at the National Intelligence Council, purging leaders amid what the office called an effort to address “weaponization” of intelligence.
Gabbard removed the acting head of the council, Mike Collins, as well as his deputy, Maria Langan-Riekhof.
It’s a big shift at an entity the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) bills as part of the “analytic arm” of the intelligence community, including coordinating with policymakers.
In addition to the removal of the two aides, Gabbard also uprooted the council from its office space at the CIA, returning it to quarters within ODNI.
“The director is working alongside President Trump to end the weaponization and politicization of the intelligence community,” an ODNI spokesperson told The Hill.
Fox News first reported the moves.
According to the outlet, Collins was associated with Michael Morrell, former deputy director of the CIA, who was among the former intelligence officials who signed onto a letter casting doubt on the discovery of Hunter Biden’s laptop, saying it had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
The firings come just days after the NIC released, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, an assessment contradicting Trump administration claims that the Tren de Aragua gang is coordinating with the Venezuelan government. In doing so, they undercut a key basis for President Trump’s invocation of wartime powers to remove people to a Salvadoran prison.
Trump has accused Tren de Aragua (TDA) of coordinating with President Nicolás Maduro in justifying his use of the 1789 Alien Enemies Act.
“While Venezuela’s permissive environment enables TDA to operate, the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States,” the declassified document said.
The release came after two Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), wrote to Gabbard asking that the document be declassified. Gabbard’s office agreed, paving the way for the release of the assessment.
Gabbard, however, later accused the media of “twisting and manipulating intelligence assessments to undermine the president’s agenda.”
Collins has spent nearly three decades in the intelligence community and has served as chief of staff for the CIA’s deputy director. He started his career as an analyst focused on East Asia.
Langan-Riekhof also has more than 30 years of experience in the intelligence community, including as an expert on the Middle East. ODNI previously listed her as an exceptional analyst. She also previously served as director of the Strategic Futures Group at NIC.
