Tulsi Gabbard quits as US intelligence chief; Iran’s response draws attention
Tulsi Gabbard will step down as US intelligence chief on June 30, saying she wants to support her husband following his diagnosis with a rare bone cancer.
A political storm erupted in Washington after allegations surfaced that the CIA had seized sensitive files related to the John F Kennedy assassination and the controversial MKUltra programme from the office of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
The controversy quickly snowballed into a wider confrontation over classified records, executive authority and long-running conspiracy-linked investigations in the United States. While Fox News reported that CIA agents had removed several boxes of documents from Gabbard’s office, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence flatly rejected the claim, calling reports of a “raid” false.
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According to Fox News, the files allegedly taken from the office included records linked to the assassination of former US President John F Kennedy and MKUltra, the Cold War-era CIA programme accused of conducting mind control and psychological experiments using drugs such as LSD.
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Olivia Coleman, Press Secretary for the Director of National Intelligence, denied the reports in a statement posted on X.
“This is false – the CIA did not raid the DNI’s office,” she wrote.
The matter gained further traction after Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna warned the CIA of legal action if the documents were not returned within 24 hours.
Luna, who chairs the House Oversight Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, said Congress had formally requested the records and accused the agency of obstructing the declassification process ordered by the President.
What Anna Paulina Luna said on the alleged CIA action
“The reason why this is troubling, A) there was an executive order that the president directed the full declassification of JFK, but then also to the MK-Ultra files famously the CIA said that all documents were released and other documents had been destroyed,” Luna told NewsNation.
In another statement posted on social media, Luna said the records were linked not only to JFK, but also to files concerning Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
“Given the nature of docs in question, we are sending a preservation notice. Docs need to be returned to ODNI given that ODNI was given direction and authority by the President to declass RFK, MLK, & JFK. Regarding MKULTRA, these were documents specifically requested by my Task Force and currently being used for our investigation,” she said.
MKUltra files return to spotlight amid declassification push
The MKUltra programme has remained one of the most controversial chapters in CIA history. Developed during the Cold War, the operation allegedly involved experiments aimed at manipulating human behaviour through torture techniques, psychological conditioning and psychoactive substances.
NewsNation reported that the allegations around the CIA’s alleged intervention first surfaced during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Wednesday. During the hearing, whistleblower James Eardman III claimed the files were being prepared for public release before the CIA allegedly stepped in.
The task force led by Luna is part of a bipartisan effort in Congress seeking the release of long-classified federal records that have fuelled conspiracy theories and public suspicion for decades.
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