Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, took the unusual step of ordering the National Security Agency to retract an intelligence report on Venezuela, according to people briefed on the matter.
The report, which remains classified, described work on Venezuela by Richard Grenell, a former top intelligence official in the Trump administration who is now leading the Kennedy Center.
The report focused on Mr. Grenell’s conversations and negotiations with Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian leader of Venezuela, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The report and the recall were issued several months ago, at a time when Mr. Grenell was negotiating the return of undocumented immigrants to Venezuela, according to people briefed on the report.
President Trump had appointed Mr. Grenell as an envoy to Venezuela and asked him to lead negotiations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was working on a different track on Venezuelan negotiations.
The original report was circulated throughout the intelligence community. But more recently, the White House has ordered spy agencies to restrict the distribution list of people receiving intelligence on Venezuela.
The National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies routinely retract reports when new information renders old ones erroneous or if mistakes are detected. But the unclassified note retracting the Venezuela report noted that the N.S.A. work remained sound.
“The report is accurate and in accordance with all N.S.A. policy, directives and guidance; however, the D.N.I. directed N.S.A. to recall the report,” the recall notice said, referring to the director of national intelligence.
Multiple people briefed on the matter insisted the recall was not about the report’s content but because it did not hide Mr. Grenell’s identity, describing him as the presidential envoy to Venezuela. Ms. Gabbard has asked intelligence agencies to take special care with reports that either directly identify Trump administration officials or are written in ways that could easily identify them.
During the first Trump administration, the issue of “unmasking” U.S. officials who were caught up in communications intercepts became a contentious issue. As a result, Ms. Gabbard has tried to avoid identifying Americans in intelligence reports out of concern for privacy and civil liberties, multiple U.S. officials said.
The N.S.A. report appears to have included information about Mr. Grenell that was collected by the spy agency. It is not clear whether that involved conversations between two foreigners or conversations Mr. Grenell had directly with Mr. Maduro. The N.S.A. does not directly listen to conversations with Americans, but those communications can be swept up when the agency is listening to others.
Mr. Grenell declined to comment. The National Security Agency and a White House official did not comment. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Grenell has been at odds with Mr. Rubio, who is also the national security adviser, over the Trump administration’s policy on Venezuela.
Mr. Grenell has pushed for a deal-making approach that seeks reaching agreements with the Maduro government that could benefit American energy companies. Mr. Rubio has taken a much harder line, vetoing any energy deals, and supported the more militaristic approach the administration is currently pursuing with Venezuela.
A deal to release hostages held in the country fell apart this year, after Mr. Grenell and Mr. Rubio’s State Department pursued separate deals. Mr. Grenell was pressing for an agreement that would have allowed Chevron to continue its oil operations in Venezuela, a vital source of revenue for its authoritarian government. Mr. Rubio opposed that concession.
Julian E. Barnes covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades.
Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent for The Times, reporting on President Trump.
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