ToplineDirector of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department, seeking investigations into government officials involved in the whistleblower complaint that led to President Donald Trump’s first impeachment by the House in 2019, multiple reports said, in a move that comes days after Gabbard released new documents about the impeachment effort.Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifies during a House Select Intelligence Committee hearing.Getty ImagesKey FactsAccording to Fox News and CBS, the referral targets the whistleblower—whose identity has not been made public—who flagged concerns about Trump’s 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where he urged him to probe then-former Vice President Joe Biden.The referral has also sought a criminal probe into the actions of former Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, Michael Atkinson, who informed Congress about the complaint.In the referral, the general counsel for Gabbard’s office mentioned “possible criminal activity in violation of federal criminal law” committed by one or more former intelligence officials, according to the Fox News report.The details about the specific crimes mentioned in the complaint are unknown and it is unclear if the DOJ will take up the probe.What Has Tulsi Gabbard Said About The 2019 Impeachment?Earlier this week, Gabbard released new documents about the impeachment effort and claimed they contained proof of a “coordinated effort” to “manufacture a conspiracy” to impeach Trump. The documents didn’t provide any specific instance of criminal wrongdoing, and did not appear to challenge the facts presented in the impeachment proceedings. In an X post which referred to the impeachment as a “scam,” Gabbard alleged without evidence that “deep state actors” had given Congress a “false narrative” to “usurp the will of the American people.” The National Intelligence Director also appeared on News Nation on Wednesday night for an interview where she reiterated her “deep state” claims. But when asked what laws she thinks were broken, Gabbard said: “I’m leaving it up to the lawyers and the Department of Justice to take a look at this and to determine the specific legal parameters.”Chief CriticRep. Jim Hines, D-Conn., the senior-most Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called out the referral in a statement, saying: “The whistleblower who made Congress aware of Donald Trump's efforts to extort Ukraine and falsely smear his opponent followed all the rules and demonstrated courage and principle…This apparent criminal referral will amount to nothing because no misconduct occurred, but what it will do is chill future whistleblowers from coming forward to Congress with confidence that the law will protect them. I suspect that is precisely the point.”TangentEarlier this week, in a Truth Social post, Trump again endorsed the idea that his impeachment was a “hoax” and should therefore be reversed. The president shared an article featuring an interview with his former impeachment lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, who argued that Trump should ask the Supreme Court or Congress to reverse his impeachment. In the post, Trump declared that Dershowitz was “one of the greats” and suggested he should “do it,” although it is unclear how this would happen. Further ReadingODNI sends criminal referrals to DOJ for ex-IG, whistleblower tied to Trump impeachment (Fox News)Gabbard sends criminal referrals to DOJ for whistleblower and watchdog who helped launch Trump's first impeachment (CBS News)