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A sharp divide at the top of America's national security apparatus is bursting into public view as the FBI has told Congress it 'strongly' opposed a plan that would hand the nation's counterintelligence reins to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The bureau reportedly warned lawmakers against expanding the authority of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, a letter obtained by the New York Times showed. Gabbard's office would gain sweeping new power under the proposal that was shot down by Congress - highlighting growing unease and division across federal agencies. Gabbard's team reportedly planned to promote the changes putting them in another letter. In its note, the FBI challenged claims from Gabbard's office that the broader intelligence community was unified in backing a plan that would place her office at the forefront of counterintelligence operations. The letter from the FBI added to the growing evidence of strain reported between Gabbard and leaders at other intelligence agencies, particularly FBI Director Kash Patel. The FBI letter, though unsigned, was confirmed by administration officials to have Patel's backing before being sent. It pushes back on several counterintelligence roles that Gabbard would assume, employing phrases such as 'vigorously disagrees with' and 'strong objection.' The letter warns that one of the proposed changes would 'cause serious and long-lasting damage to the US national security.' In a joint statement to Daily Mail, a spokesperson from Gabbard's office emphasized that they were working together, saying, 'The ODNI and the FBI are united in working with Congress to strengthen our nation's counterintelligence efforts to best protect the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.' An intelligence community official also tells Daily Mail that the FBI's letter is a 'preemptive response' to an ODNI process document. 'It was drafted as a part of interagency coordination. Deliberative process documents are not final products. Any time there is a disagreement in opinion across the intelligence community, ODNI denotes the discrepancy in final products and accounts for it in all materials before it reaches Congress or others in the Administration.' According to officials familiar with the matter, the House proposal would effectively place all counterintelligence operations across the nation's intelligence agencies under Gabbard's control. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the senior Democrat on the Intelligence Committee and a longtime critic of Gabbard, called the plan to broaden her office's authority 'misguided.' Since taking office, Gabbard has disbanded several major units under her supervision, including the teams focused on election security and the National Intelligence University. Daily Mail reached out to both Gabbard and Patel's offices for comment. The FBI did not immediately respond. Joe Kent, a staunch Gabbard ally and head of the National Counterterrorism Center, ignited alarm within the FBI originally when he launched a probe into the death of activist Charlie Kirk. Kent even went so far as to delve into the bureau’s own files, sources say, looking into whether Kirk's alleged killer received help from a foreign power. Patel shut down the entire investigation involving Gabbard's closest advisor, believing that the counter terror chief was overstepping by interfering with an ongoing FBI investigation. The Times spoke with supporters of Kent who claim he was doing his job by chasing down any leads to ensure no foreign groups were involved in Kirk's death. After Patel discovered Kent had gone through FBI case material related to the Kirk killing, a tense White House meeting was held to discuss the matter. A round table meeting between Patel, Kent, Gabbard, Vice President JD Vance, White House chief of staff Susie Wilies, and senior DOJ officials was held at the White House. Kent told administration officials that he was granted access to FBI files by a low ranking agency official. Trump administration officials were worried that Kent's probe into foreign interference could provide ammunition to Robinson's defense lawyers, who could then argue more than one suspect was involved in Kirk's murder.
