Gabbard accuses Washington Post reporter of ‘political op'
Post reporter Ellen Nakashima, Gabbard wrote in a social media post on Thursday, 'appears to be actively harassing ODNI staff.'
'Instead of reaching out to my press office, she is calling high level Intelligence Officers from a burner phone, refusing to identify herself, lying about the fact that she works for the Washington Post, and then demanding they share sensitive information,' Gabbard said.
'Apparently, publishing leaked classified material wasn't enough for the Washington Post, so now they've decided to go after the Intelligence professionals charged to protect it,' the director added.
Nakashima has an extensive history of reporting on matters of national security and is a member of three Pulitzer-prize-winning teams at The Post.
In a statement responding to Gabbard, Post executive editor Matt Murray defended Nakashima's work.
'For three decades, Ellen Nakashima has been one of the most careful, fair-minded, and highly regarded reporters covering national security,' Murray said. 'Reaching out to potential sources rather than relying solely on official government press statements regarding matters of public interest is neither nefarious nor is it harassment. It is basic journalism.'
Murray called Gabbard's attack 'unfounded' and 'personal' saying it 'reflects a fundamental misunderstanding about the role of journalists to report on government officials and hold power to account, without fear or favor and regardless of party.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
20 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Why you probably don't live in a competitive congressional district
Good morning, Early Birds. Does anyone know what's happening Sept. 19? We would like to know! Send tips to earlytips@ Thanks for waking up with us. In today's edition … Why you probably don't live in a competitive House district … Trump treks to Scotland … but first …
Business Insider
23 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Russia is pouring money into its war machine — but it's still struggling to create new, advanced systems
Russia is spending record amounts on defense. But it's falling behind in building the advanced, modern military it needs for future wars, according to a new report. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered sweeping sanctions that not only damaged its ability to procure advanced technology but also weakened its military-scientific base, wrote Mathieu Boulègue, a consulting fellow in the Russia and Eurasia program at London-based Chatham House, in a report published on Monday. "This damage, in turn, affects the rate of military innovation and R&D. More importantly, it determines how the Kremlin will wage war in the future," wrote Boulègue, a specialist in Eurasian security and defense issues. Russia is set to spend 6.3% of its GDP on defense this year — a post-Cold War high. However, the country's military-industrial complex has been "degraded" by trade restrictions and the demands of wartime production, according to Boulègue. "Russia's ability to produce military hardware has been severely impacted, and its ability to innovate and adopt modern military technology constrained as a result of these challenges," he added. With sanctions cutting off access to critical imports, Russia has been left scrambling to replace advanced components with inferior stand-ins. As early as August 2022, Russian state-owned carrier Aeroflot began stripping spare parts from working aircraft due to sanctions-induced supply shortages. In October, Russia filmed its troops using a Soviet howitzer, showing its military stockpiles were under strain. Boulègue assessed that the state of Russia's military-industrial complex is one of regression, not progress. "Russia will likely have to simplify and slow its military production, accept reduced quality of outputs and manage a form of 'innovation stagnation' in its research and development," he wrote, referring to Russia's state armament programme from 2025 to 2034. As a result, Russia's pathway to military innovation is likely to remain incremental — built on small tweaks to old systems rather than genuine breakthroughs. "Innovation generally takes the form of integrating technological solutions directly into proven, older-generation systems — which in turn makes them 'modern,'" Boulègue wrote. Russia's military sector has adopted a "retain-and-adapt" approach because military production is no longer innovation-led. "In other words, Russia 'innovates' through 'smart adaptation' under technical and economical constraints that have a negative, cumulative effect at the tactical level," he added. In the short term, Russia's military-industrial complex will likely keep producing systems that are "good enough" to pose a clear and constant threat to Ukraine, NATO, and the West. But its long-term ability to compete with advanced military powers is eroding. The stresses on Russia's military-industry complex also mean the broader economy is under increasing strain, despite initial signs of wartime growth. "The war economy brings 'good' macroeconomic results, but is causing real-world problems such as increased inflation, decreasing wages and purchasing power, and a liquidity crisis in the banking sector," wrote Boulègue. Russia's economy has shown signs of fatigue recently. Manufacturing activity contracted sharply in June as weak demand and a strong ruble affected exports and jobs. Low oil prices are also hitting the country's all-important oil and gas sector. Meanwhile, a demographic crisis and competition for labor with the military are also hurting the economy in the long and short term.
Fox News
23 minutes ago
- Fox News
WaPo editorial member leaves over Bezos' 'relentless promotion of free markets and personal liberties'
A Washington Post editorial board member is reportedly leaving the paper, citing leadership's "relentless promotion of free markets and personal liberties." Following President Donald Trump's re-election, Post owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced that the editorial section of the paper would be changing course, prompting then-opinion editor David Shipley to leave. "We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We'll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others," Bezos posted on X in Feb 2025. This proved to be too much for liberal Post editorial board member and columnist Eduardo Porter, who said he would no longer be writing for the paper because he is a "bad fit for this ideological turn." In a letter allegedly penned by Porter, he said, "Jeff Bezos and his new head of Opinion are taking the paper down a path I cannot follow directed towards the relentless promotion of free markets and personal liberties, unflinching in its patriotism and unbounded in its optimism about the future of the United States." "In my view, this layering of dogma undermines critical thinking. It is in tension with my understanding of what journalism, analysis and commentary are about. It risks turning the Post into something more akin to a church, with tight constraints on thought," he added. Porter appeared to believe that the new direction would turn the Washington Post into a "pamphlet" for "venerating the technological plutocracy at the apex of American society" that he believes Bezos takes part in as a tech-based mogul. He also questioned Trump's influence in these decisions. "I have no idea to what extent this is driven by Mr. Bezos' fear of what Donald Trump could do to his various business interests, most of which are more valuable to him than The Post," the letter read. Fox News Digital reached out to Porter and the Washington Post for comment. Reports of Porter leaving the Post come on the heels of fellow columnist Jonathan Capehart, who had previously resigned from the editorial board, reportedly accepting a buyout to leave the paper after nearly two decades. A glut of columnists and opinion page contributors - Ann Telnaes, David Shipley, Ruth Marcus, Eugene Robinson and, just earlier this month, Joe Davidson – have also all departed the beltway paper as concerns mount over the Washington Post's editorial slant taking a rightward shift following Trump's re-election. Washington Post publisher and CEO Will Lewis urged staff members in a memo earlier this month that those who didn't "feel aligned" with the new direction should take a buyout and leave.
