Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s office is pushing back on claims that the CIA “raided” ODNI headquarters and removed boxes of sensitive files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the controversial MKUltra program, after comments from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) sparked a wave of online speculation and cable news coverage of the dust-up this week.
“This is false — the CIA did not raid the DNI’s office,” ODNI press secretary Olivia Coleman wrote late Wednesday evening on X, in response to a now-deleted segment from Fox News host Jesse Watters amplifying the allegation.
This is false – the CIA did not raid the DNI’s office. https://t.co/vZOEqzeK4M— Olivia Coleman (@DNIspox) May 14, 2026
The controversy began after Luna told NewsNation that she had been informed the CIA had “taken documents out of ODNI, multiple boxes pertaining to the JFK files as well as MKUltra.” She characterized the alleged removal as “troubling,” particularly because President Donald Trump has ordered broad declassification reviews involving assassination records and particularly sensitive intelligence files.
The comments quickly spread online and were later picked up by Fox News on Wednesday afternoon, when Watters described the allegations in dramatic terms during an interview with Luna, saying “THE CIA JUST RAIDED TULSI GABBARD’S OFFICE… HOLY SMOKES!”
