The acting director of the National Security Agency tried to save one of his top scientists from having his security clearance revoked by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. William J. Hartman beseeched Gabbard on behalf of Vinh Nguyen, who was one of 37 current and former national security officials to have their clearance yanked by Gabbard on Tuesday, but was rebuffed, according to the Times.
Nguyen is recognized as an expert in artificial intelligence and advanced mathematics.
In a statement posted on X, Gabbard said the action followed direction from President Donald Trump. She stated that those affected had "abused the public trust by politicizing and manipulating intelligence, leaking classified intelligence without authorization, and/or committing intentional egregious violations of tradecraft standards."
At issue is that Nguyen is linked to a whistleblower who said he was instructed to abandon "further investigation" into whether Trump was communicating with Russia in 2016 through a secret server shared by Alfa Bank of Russia and Trump Tower in Manhattan, RealClearInvestigations reported earlier this month. The whistleblower said he was told by his boss, reported to be Nguyen, to stop investigating when the analyst found little to no evidence supporting collusion.
Hearing that Nguyen's name was going to be among those affected, Hartman had asked Gabbard to see the evidence against Nguyen but was denied, the Times reported.
Hartman was named acting director to replace Gen. Timothy Haugh, who was ousted in the spring after he was linked to Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump in his first administration.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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