Gabbard Coordinated Call Between Trump, FBI Agents

Tulsi Gabbard's surprise presence at an FBI raid of an election center in Georgia has drawn the criticism of Democrats, but the director of national intelligence is defending herself in a letter to lawmakers. Key points:

• Trump directive: Gabbard says President Trump himself asked her to attend the raid in Fulton County, part of an investigation into the 2020 election, reports Axios. "My presence was requested by the President and executed under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security, including counter-intelligence, foreign and other malign influence and cybersecurity," she wrote in the letter to Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes.

• Trump call: Gabbard wrote that while at the raid, she "facilitated a brief phone call for the President to thank the agents personally for their work." The New York Times frames this as "outside the bounds of normal law enforcement procedure." Gabbard placed a call to Trump on her phone, then put him on speaker when he called back to address the agents for about a minute, according to the story. One source likened it to a coach giving players a pep talk.
• The criticism: Democrats are still wondering why the director of national intelligence attended an FBI raid. "The involvement of the director of national intelligence in a domestic criminal matter—far outside her statutory role—only deepens those concerns and demands immediate scrutiny," said Warner on Monday. Democratic lawmakers from Georgia have demanded a full accounting from US Attorney General Pam Bondi, per the Guardian.
• Her defense: Gabbard, in her letter, said her visit made sense. "Interference in U.S. elections is a threat to our republic and a national security threat," she wrote, per Fox News. "The President and his Administration are committed to safeguarding the integrity of U.S. elections to ensure that neither foreign nor domestic powers undermine the American people's right to determine who our elected leaders are."