Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is reportedly under increased scrutiny as President Donald Trump and senior officials dig deeper into the origins of a classified leak aimed at undermining the overwhelming success of Operation Midnight Hammer — the precision strike that devastated Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

Sources close to the Trump administration say Gabbard has “put herself in the line of fire” by publicly dismantling media efforts to downplay the mission's success, even as anonymous insiders whisper her name in connection to the damaging leak of a low-confidence, preliminary Pentagon assessment to CNN and The New York Times.

The leaked document falsely suggested that the 30,000-pound bunker-busting bombs deployed against Iran's nuclear enrichment sites caused only superficial damage. President Trump and his national security team have categorically rejected that narrative, stating the opposite: the targets — Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan — were "completely and totally obliterated."

Now, the White House is reportedly narrowing its focus on who had access to the flawed assessment and why it was selectively leaked to the press. According to the Daily Mail, Gabbard was quietly sidelined from a classified briefing to Congress this week, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe will provide concrete evidence of the strike’s success.

Despite the speculation, administration insiders pushed back against the idea that Gabbard is being targeted. One official told the Mail that the media was “turning this into something it’s not.” Still, others suggested that the blame game has begun — and Gabbard’s name is being floated within the West Wing.

Left-wing Trump biographer Michael Wolff tried to spin the moment as routine: “It’s always important in the Trump script, the fallback is always who to blame… What they are saying as of this morning, who this is being pinned on, is Tulsi.”

But Gabbard hasn’t stayed silent. Far from retreating, she has forcefully defended Trump, Rubio, and Hegseth — and accused the corporate media of disrespecting the men and women who carried out the historic strike.

“New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed,” Gabbard posted on X. “If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do.”

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung made clear that Gabbard remains a valued member of the team.

“President Trump has full confidence in his entire exceptional national security team,” Cheung said. “DNI Gabbard is an important member of the President’s team, and her work continues to serve him and this country well.”

Still, tensions flared on Friday when President Trump directly rebutted Gabbard’s comment that U.S. intelligence continues to assess Iran is “not building a nuclear weapon.”

“She’s wrong,” Trump told reporters.

Gabbard quickly fired back at the media, accusing them of twisting her words to create division.

“The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division,” she posted.

At a Pentagon press conference, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine further debunked the media’s spin, directly calling out the flawed DIA report and the motives behind the leak.

“It’s a preliminary, low-confidence report filled with gaps and linchpin assumptions,” Hegseth said. “That means if you’re wrong on one point, the whole thing collapses. And it admits likely severe damage.”

“It was leaked because someone had an agenda — to muddy the waters and make it look like this historic strike wasn’t successful,” Hegseth added.

General Caine confirmed the military had already evacuated personnel in anticipation of retaliatory threats from Iran, underscoring the professionalism and foresight behind the operation.

The Trump administration is not just standing by the mission — they’re standing by the truth. And while the leaker may still be unknown, one thing is clear: Operation Midnight Hammer was a success, and the American people won’t be fooled by politically motivated distortions.