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A group of intelligence officials was reportedly shocked when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revealed the name of an ‘undercover’ agent on social media earlier this month.
However, according to senior intelligence sources speaking to the Daily Mail, this supposedly ‘undercover’ CIA officer did not have her identity compromised. The agent is already known in public circles as a CIA employee and was even slated to speak at an intelligence conference in April.
On August 19, the DNI released the names of 37 current and former intelligence officials who were to have their security clearances removed. In her announcement, she criticized these officials for politicization, failing to protect classified information, breaching tradecraft, and engaging in other harmful activities.
The vast majority of the officials reportedly had been involved in creating intelligence reports about Russia’s infiltration of the 2016 presidential election or had signed a letter in support of Donald Trump’s impeachment.
Also included on the list was a senior CIA officer who had been working undercover at the time Gabbard and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) published the letter, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Three anonymous sources familiar with the matter said Gabbard’s office at the ODNI failed to ‘meaningfully consult with the CIA before releasing the list,’ according to the WSJ report. Outing an undercover agent would amount to a grave, even potentially deadly, security breach.
However, two senior intelligence sources, who themselves opted not to be named, told the Daily Mail that the list’s release was coordinated throughout the intelligence community and there were ‘zero concerns expressed by any of the agencies about the revocations.’
They also shared that the ‘undercover’ agent is actually an overt, well-known and public-facing CIA analyst who has direct ties to Trump’s ‘Russiagate’ investigation.
A Wall Street Journal report claimed that DNI Tulsi Gabbard outed an undercover CIA agent, but sources close to the matter tell the Daily Mail that the official in question was a well-known agent involved in investigating Donald Trump
Gabbard published a list of intelligence officials who had their security clearances revoked earlier this month. The ODNI claims it aligns with President Trump’s agenda
Julia Gurganus was named in the DNI’s letter of individuals who had their clearances revoked. Two senior intelligence sources told the Daily Mail she is the ‘undercover’ agent whose cover was allegedly blown by Gabbard
‘Julia Gurganus was an overt analyst, not covert operative, at the National Intelligence Council,’ one of the intelligence sources shared with the Daily Mail.
‘For years, she used her affiliation with the CIA and the Intelligence Community to write articles, speak on panels, join boards, etc.’
The unnamed source did not refute the fact that Gurganus was undercover, but instead shared that the CIA agent went covert in June as a result of the ODNI’s public releases on the 2016 Russia election investigation.
‘Ms. Gurganus was a part of the IC’s analysis of the 2016 election from the Senate’s 2020 report,’ they shared.
‘In fact, Ms. Gurganus was not just involved, she actively oversaw the production of the now infamous and highly politicized 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment.’
Another senior intelligence official said Gurganus had ties to the ‘deep state’ and the intelligence releases ‘directly implicate her.’
The ODNI’s office has repeatedly pushed back on the WSJ’s reporting.
The Daily Mail was unable to get in contact with Gurganus.
Julia Gurganus was listed as a speaker at the AFCEA’s 2025 Spring Intelligence Symposium in April. Her bio included that she works at the CIA. Above she is shown at a Women’s Foreign Policy Group event
Gurganus’s name was included in a 2020 Senate report about the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation
‘Director of National Intelligence Gabbard directed the revocations to ensure individuals who have violated the trust placed in them by weaponizing, politicizing, manipulating, or leaking classified intelligence are no longer allowed to do so,’ an ODNI spokeswoman said.
Gabbard’s deputy chief of staff, Alexa Henning, called the report ‘false’ on social media.
Despite reportedly being undercover, Gurganus recently spoke at an intelligence conference and has a vast online public footprint.
She was listed as a speaker at the AFCEA’s 2025 Spring Intelligence Symposium in April, according to its website.
Her bio included that she works at the CIA as a senior executive manager for the CIA’s Europe and Eurasia Mission Center.
She has bylines with popular news outlets such as The Atlantic, where her bio claims she’s on sabbatical from the CIA,’ Axios, Foreign Affairs and others.
Gurganus’s name also appears in a 2020 Senate intelligence report that was declassified earlier this year by the ODNI.
It claims she was a national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia and that she worked with ex-CIA Director James Clapper.
‘After 29 years, they put her undercover, why?’ a senior intelligence official pointed out.
The CIA did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment.
