The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department related to a whistleblower complaint that helped trigger President Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment, his first, ostensibly tied to a phone call he held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reports said this week.

The referrals also include former intelligence community inspector general Michael Atkinson, who notified Congress of the allegations.

“I want to refer information that may constitute possible criminal activity in violation of federal criminal law committed by one or more former employees of the intelligence community,” the agency’s general counsel wrote. The referral cited concerns tied to actions described in congressional briefings during the 2019 impeachment process, Fox News reported.

Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show the referrals reference Atkinson’s briefings before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Those briefings took place during the 116th Congress as lawmakers examined the whistleblower complaint.

The referrals follow the release of newly declassified records by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Officials said the materials detail what they described as a coordinated effort within elements of the intelligence community tied to the impeachment.

An intelligence official said the referral language is broad but is focused on Atkinson and the whistleblower. The complaint centered on President Donald Trump’s July 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Gabbard pointed to the documents in a social media post when asked about the referrals.
“Newly-declassified records expose how deep state actors within the Intelligence Community concocted a false narrative,” she wrote.

The Justice Department has not publicly responded to the referrals. Officials have not indicated whether an investigation has been opened.

The released materials include transcripts of Atkinson’s closed-door testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. Those transcripts were later made public following a vote led by committee chairman Rick Crawford.

During his testimony, Atkinson addressed his handling of the whistleblower complaint. He said the complaint met the legal standard required to notify Congress.

“I determined that the complaint related to an urgent concern,” Atkinson said in his testimony. He said the determination was based on the information available at the time.

Atkinson acknowledged that the whistleblower did not have firsthand knowledge of the events described. He said the complaint relied on accounts from multiple U.S. officials who were deemed credible.

“I was not a direct witness to most of the events described,” the whistleblower complaint stated. Atkinson said those secondhand accounts were consistent and supported further review.

Atkinson also said the whistleblower showed potential signs of political bias. Despite that, he said the law did not require him to dismiss the complaint on that basis.

The complaint, filed in August 2019, raised concerns about Trump’s call with Zelenskyy. It included allegations that Trump encouraged investigations involving former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.

Democrats argued the request amounted to a quid pro quo tied to U.S. military aid. Trump and his allies rejected that characterization and said the call was appropriate.

Biden has said his actions regarding Ukraine were part of official U.S. policy at the time. He described pressuring Ukraine to remove a prosecutor during a 2018 event.

“I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion,’” Biden recalled. He said the prosecutor was removed after the warning.

House Republicans raised concerns during the impeachment process about the whistleblower’s contact with congressional staff. They questioned interactions involving then-Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.

Schiff acknowledged contact but said it did not influence the handling of the complaint. He described the communication as limited in nature.

The whistleblower complaint was later declassified and released publicly. It stated that the information was based largely on secondhand accounts from multiple officials.

Acting AG Blanche Fires Back at Obama’s DOJ Criticism

Posted July 21, 2026

Former President Barack Obama sharply criticized the Trump administration this week over what he described as growing political influence inside the United States Department of Justice, prompting an aggressive response from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defending both the administration’s prosecutions and President Donald Trump’s authority over the executive branch.

The escalating public dispute comes as the Justice Department faces mounting scrutiny over a series of criminal investigations and indictments involving several longtime Trump critics and political adversaries, including former FBI Director James Comey.

Obama raised the issue during an interview with Stephen Colbert on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that aired Monday night.

“The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever,” Obama said during the interview. “The idea is that the attorney general is the people’s lawyer. It’s not the president’s consigliere.”

Obama suggested the principle of DOJ independence may ultimately need to be codified into law by Congress, arguing that the justice system risks becoming politicized if presidents are perceived as directly targeting political opponents through federal prosecutions.

The comments immediately triggered pushback from the Trump administration.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused Obama of hypocrisy, arguing that his administration played a central role in the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.

“Barack Hussein Obama is the king of weaponization,” Jackson said in a statement, referencing declassified documents related to the FBI’s Russia probe.

But the administration’s most extensive response came Wednesday from Blanche during an interview with CBS News in Phoenix.

Blanche forcefully rejected accusations that the DOJ is engaged in political retaliation and defended the president’s constitutional authority over the executive branch.

“Article Two says, ‘the executive power shall be vested in the President of the United States of America,’” Blanche said while holding a pocket copy of the Constitution during the interview. “It does not say that the Attorney General stands off to the side.”

Blanche emphasized that the attorney general serves within the executive branch and argued that presidents are fully entitled to direct priorities involving law enforcement, immigration, drugs, and national security.

“To the extent that President Trump calls me and says that he thinks we have a problem in this country, whether it’s the scourge of drugs, illegal immigration, every American wants him to do that,” Blanche said. “And he should.”

The acting attorney general also dismissed accusations that the DOJ is pursuing politically motivated cases against Trump critics.

“We are absolutely doing nothing but what we should be doing at the Department of Justice,” Blanche said. “I wake up with a very clean conscience every morning.”

The public clash comes amid multiple high-profile investigations involving Trump adversaries.

Most notably, Comey was recently indicted after prosecutors alleged a 2025 Instagram post featuring seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47” constituted a threat against Trump, the 47th president. Prosecutors argue “86” is commonly understood slang meaning “to eliminate” or “get rid of.”

Blanche defended the case, arguing threats against the president must be treated seriously given recent assassination attempts and escalating political extremism.

Last year, Trump publicly urged then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue prosecutions against Comey, James, and Sen. Adam Schiff, writing on social media that “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED.”

Blanche declined to discuss private conversations with Trump when asked whether the president personally directed prosecutions.

“But rest assured,” Blanche said, “he has much better, bigger and important things to do than to worry about me doing my job.”

Blanche also turned Democrats’ criticism back against them by pointing to the multiple criminal prosecutions Trump himself faced before returning to office, including cases brought by state prosecutors in New York and Georgia as well as federal investigations overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

“So I welcome criticism. Let’s go,” Blanche said. “But if you’re sitting in a glass house, you ought not throw stones.”