Two intelligence community officials confirmed to the Daily Caller that CIA officials took documents from the JFK and MKUltra files that were being reviewed by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard for declassification.
A CIA whistleblower testified to the Senate Homeland Security committee on Wednesday that the agency “took back 40 boxes of JFK and MKUltra files” and “illegally monitored the computer and phone usage” of Gabbard’s investigators looking into an alleged cover-up of the origins of Covid-19. Notably, MKUltra was an illegal CIA experiment program that used drugs and psychological torture to develop mind control and interrogation techniques.
NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich reported that “people from the CIA took documents (related to the JFK assassination/MKUltra) from the National Reconnaissance Office *last year* in the middle of the night during the government shutdown and have not returned/is withholding them from ODNI.”
UPDATE on this and more on @KatiePavlichNN at 10 pm et on NewsNation. I just spoke to an Intelligence official who told me the following:
-The documents were not taken today and it was not a raid on DNI Gabbard’s office
-People from the CIA took documents (related to the JFK… https://t.co/PF4jcBx6fc pic.twitter.com/wEIouQosIm
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) May 14, 2026
Prior to James Erdmann III’s testimony, CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons claimed the Committee was acting in “bad faith” by not notifying the CIA that he would be testifying. (RELATED: CIA Whistleblower Alleges Cover-Up Of Lab Leak Intelligence)
“The witness testifying today is not appearing as a whistleblower in pursuit of the truth, but instead in response to the subpoena issued by Chairman Paul,” Lyons said.
“This proceeding amounts to nothing more than dishonest political theater masquerading as a congressional hearing. As the CIA has already assessed, COVID-19 most likely originated from a lab leak, and efforts to undermine that conclusion are disingenuous,” Lyons added.
The Committee acted in bad faith by subpoenaing an Agency officer for testimony today without notifying CIA, despite having already obtained closed-door testimony from the individual previously. The witness testifying today is not appearing as a whistleblower in pursuit of the…
— Liz Lyons (@CIASpox) May 13, 2026
Former CIA officer John Kiriakou explained to Fox News’ Jesse Watters during a Wednesday night interview that the CIA does not have authority over the DNI or the president.
“The CIA cannot overrule the president, and the CIA cannot even overrule the director of national intelligence,” Kiriakou stated. “They are mandated to be declassified. The American people have a right to know what is in these files.”
“Real life isn’t supposed to work this way. This is crazy,” Kiriakou said.
Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna threatened to subpoena the CIA if the files were not returned to the ODNI within 24 hours.
This story is breaking and will be updated.