Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has ordered the termination and security clearance revocation of over 100 federal intelligence employees for participating in what she described as “obscene, pornographic, and sexually explicit” messages on government communications systems.
The directive, issued Tuesday, fired employees who allegedly misused the National Security Agency’s “Intelink” messaging platform to engage in inappropriate discussions during work hours.
“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. What to speak of, like basic rules and standards around professionalism,” Gabbard said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
The action follows an investigation by Manhattan Institute researchers Christopher Rufo and Hannah Grossman, who reported that employees from various intelligence agencies, including the NSA, Defense Intelligence Agency, and U.S. Naval Intelligence, “hijacked at least two channels—LBTQA and IC_Pride_TWG” to spend their days discussing sexually explicit content.
“They were brazen in using an NSA platform intended for professional use to conduct this kind of really, really horrific behavior,” Gabbard 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.”
According to the Manhattan Institute report, the chats included discussions of “genital castration, artificial vaginas, piss fetishes, sex polycules, and gangbangs” on the NSA system during work hours.
Rufo claimed the channels were “legitimized” under President Joe Biden’s mandate for diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Gabbard, who was sworn in as DNI on February 12, confirmed the report in social media posts, stating that the chat groups were shut down following President Donald Trump’s executive order ending racist DEI initiatives in the federal government.
“This behavior is unacceptable and those involved WILL be held accountable,” Gabbard wrote on X. “These disgusting chat groups were immediately shut down when @POTUS issued his EO ending the DEI insanity the Biden Admin was obsessed with. Our IC must be focused on our core mission: ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.”
An NSA spokesperson acknowledged to Fox News Digital that the agency was “actively investigating” potential abuses of the messaging platform.
Gabbard indicated Tuesday’s actions are “just beginning” and part of the Trump administration’s larger efforts to fulfill its mandate from voters.
“We got to take a step back because this is just barely scratching the surface,” she told Jesse Watters.
The report noted that some intelligence community members had allegedly accused Gabbard of being “fervently anti-queer.” As Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard oversees the entire U.S. intelligence community, including the CIA and FBI.