The Trump administration has opened its first known investigations into what it called “politically motivated leaks,” fulfilling promises to pursue the sources of stories involving national security revelations.
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, announced the investigations in a statement on Friday. Among the accusations, she said The Washington Post had published leaked information on Iran and Israel, and NBC had published leaked information on the state of U.S.-Russia relations.
It was not clear that any published information was classified, or that the news organizations had received classified materials. There are tight restrictions on the circumstances under which intelligence officials can provide information to the news media.
“Politically motivated leaks undermine our national security and the trust of the American people, and will not be tolerated,” Ms. Gabbard wrote. “Unfortunately, such leaks have become commonplace with no investigation or accountability. That ends now.”
Ms. Gabbard said that her office knew of leakers within the intelligence agencies and that she intended to hold officials who released the information “accountable.”
Ms. Gabbard promised action against the intelligence officers she believed provided the information, not the news organizations. But the announcement of the leak investigations signaled a new effort by the Trump administration to chill national security reporting.
It is nearly impossible to write about the details of advances in the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea, or Ukraine’s efforts on the battlefield, or China’s buildup of arms, without touching on subjects that are classified somewhere in the U.S. systems.
Matt Murray, the executive editor of The Washington Post, said the newspaper would continue to “hold power to account.”
“The Washington Post takes seriously its responsibility to seek and report the facts without fear or favor on behalf of the American people, regardless of the administration,” Mr. Murray said in a statement.
The administration has already banned The Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One for refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
“Leak investigations threaten the free flow of information that the public needs to hold the government accountable, especially in the national security context,” said Bruce D. Brown, the president of the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press. “This is true from administration to administration.”
Ms. Gabbard’s announcement was immediately praised by Senator Tom Cotton, the Arkansas Republican who is the chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
During her confirmation hearing, Ms. Gabbard was repeatedly criticized by lawmakers for refusing to call Edward Snowden, the intelligence contractor who leaked a huge amount of information to the news media, a traitor.
But Ms. Gabbard promised to take action against unauthorized disclosures, even while saying she would create better avenues for whistle-blowers to report concerns.
Since taking office, Ms. Gabbard has frequently said she would roll back the “weaponization of intelligence.” Officials briefed on the actions on Friday said Ms. Gabbard’s initiation of the leak investigations was part of that effort.
In the news release announcing the inquiries, Ms. Gabbard also highlighted the investigation into the misuse of a classified chat program managed by the National Security Agency.
She ordered that officials who had posted inappropriate material in the chat be fired and stripped of their security clearances.
Officials said Ms. Gabbard would pursue a similar approach to people accused of leaking to the news media. If investigations can find proof that intelligence officials improperly shared material about their agencies, Ms. Gabbard will move to fire them.
Still, it is far from clear that the information provided to the news organizations was from intelligence officials or how sensitive it was.
Ms. Gabbard did not point out any specific stories that concerned her. She mentioned HuffPost, for example, but did not say what stories she felt contained improperly leaked material.
