Kremlin propagandists are claiming that Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, abruptly stripped 37 current and former CIA officials of their security clearances as a direct result of President Vladimir Putin’s private meeting with President Donald Trump in Alaska last month.
One of the top pro-Putin shows celebrated the impact of the summit after an undercover CIA officer and several senior Russia experts lost their access to U.S. intelligence. “In the days following the Anchorage meeting, dozens of people have lost their positions and security clearances,” one TV pundit boasted.
Last Tuesday, Trump praised Gabbard for her actions, stating, “You found some interesting things, Tulsi. She’s becoming a bigger and bigger star every day.”
Trump’s enthusiasm was widely shared in Russia, where Gabbard has previously been portrayed as a pro-Russian asset in the enemy’s camp. Introducing members of Trump’s new administration last November, state TV host Evgeny Popov remarked, “None of them are friends of Russia, except for Tulsi Gabbard.”
In 2022, state TV host Vladimir Solovyov described Gabbard as “our girlfriend” and affirmatively replied to another panelist’s question as to whether she is “some kind of Putin’s agent.” In January, Solovyov referred to Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard as “our boy and girl.” Last December, head of RT Margarita Simonyan noted, “She [Gabbard] did come to us all the time, it’s true.”
Her latest moves surprised no one in Moscow. To the contrary, they were seen as another checkmark on Putin’s wish list, just as multiple analysts, experts and pundits have predicted. Appearing on Monday’s broadcast of a state TV show The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, Trump’s biographer Kirill Benediktov—recipient of multiple literary awards and a regular fixture on state television—said that Gabbard’s actions were a direct result of Putin’s recent meeting with Trump in Alaska.
He said, “We don’t know what happened in Anchorage between Putin and Trump. We don’t know what they talked about, and it’s unlikely we will find out over the next few years, but we do know some things. The meeting took place on Aug. 15, and four days later, on Aug. 19, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard authored a memorandum. Oddly enough, she published it on X, formerly Twitter. It was about the firing of 37 agents of intelligence agencies, including the CIA, and stripping them of their security clearances.”
Benediktov was particularly thrilled about a veteran analyst, whom Gabbard publicly identified and stripped of her security clearance, effectively ending the career of a seasoned intelligence professional who was reportedly involved in a covert mission and did most of the prep for the Trump-Putin summit. He was also pleased with the firing of three Russia analysts, each of whom had at least 15 years of experience, from their positions with the State Department.
Benediktov excitedly noted, “In the days following the Anchorage meeting, dozens of people have lost their positions and security clearances, including those that worked for intelligence agencies, the State Department and the National Security Council.
Most of them had participated in intelligence assessments related to Russia’s well-documented attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
He added, “After this, Trump took a position of a neutral arbiter, stopped blaming Russia for strikes against Ukraine, and said that everyone is at fault—including Zelensky.”
Benediktov surmised, “What happened in Anchorage? Trump realized that he was being lied to in the preceding months. This is not the first time when he believed our president instead of his own intelligence. The first time this happened was in 2018, in Helsinki… Now it apparently happened for the second time. Evidently, in Anchorage, Vladimir Putin has shown Trump irrefutable data that could not be disputed, which was completely at odds with the information provided to Trump by his intelligence agencies.”
Last December, head of RT Margarita Simonyan claimed that Putin would be able to influence Trump most effectively if they were to meet in person.
A spokeswoman for Tulsi Gabbard said there was no truth to any of the claims made on Russian state TV. “No, the RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA is not factual. And the fact I need to spell this out is incredibly embarrassing for you,” she said.
Former aides of Gabbard, however, previously said that she regularly read and disseminates materials from the Russian state media outlet RT herself.
“Only the Deranged Daily Beast would print Russian propaganda and report it as ‘real’ news,” said White House spokesman Davis Ingle.
After the Anchorage summit, Russian state TV—which is tightly controlled by the Kremlin’s apparatus—suddenly stopped mocking Trump. Hosts and pundits alike started praising the American president as a wise, experienced, learned man. Decorated state TV host Vladimir Solovyov disingenuously denied ever mocking Trump.
Solovyov boasted that his predictions are coming true. He remarked, “Kirill and I have always believed in Comrade Trump.” He later added, “Trump has demonstrated phenomenal flexibility and susceptibility to new information. After the meeting in Anchorage, there were no ultimatums and no demands to do this or that by Sept. 1, or else he would impose terrible sanctions. There were no statements about an immediate ceasefire. Suddenly, there is no need for a ceasefire.” Solovyov surmised, “Something is taking place at a totally different level, in a completely different paradigm.”
During Tuesday’s briefing at the White House, Trump shared a little more about his conversations with Putin. “I have learned things that will be very interesting. I think in the next few days you’ll find out,” he said.
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