ODNI Refers Whistleblower and Former Inspector General to Justice Department for Criminal Investigation The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department for the whistleblower whose complaint led to President Trump's impeachment and the former intelligence community inspector general who alerted Congress. The referrals cite potential violations of federal law related to the handling of the complaint about President Trump's call with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. The move follows a release of documents suggesting a coordinated effort within the intelligence community to impeach Trump. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has officially submitted criminal referrals to the Department of Justice concerning both the original whistleblower whose complaint initiated President Donald Trump's 2019 impeachment proceedings, and the former intelligence community inspector general who brought the allegations to congressional attention. This development, obtained by Fox News Digital, signals a significant escalation in the scrutiny surrounding the events that led to Trump's first impeachment. The general counsel for the ODNI explicitly stated in the referral document addressed to the Justice Department their intention to refer information that potentially points to criminal activity by former intelligence community employees. The document asserts that these individuals may have violated federal criminal law. Fox News Digital was granted access to these referrals, which specifically reference congressional briefings held in 2019 by the Intelligence Community Inspector General before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. These briefings detailed the circumstances surrounding the whistleblower's complaint. The timing of these referrals is particularly noteworthy, arriving shortly after Representative Tulsi Gabbard released documents that she characterized as evidence of a deliberate and coordinated effort by certain elements within the intelligence community, including then-Inspector General Michael Atkinson, to fabricate a conspiracy. This alleged conspiracy, according to Gabbard's assertions, was then leveraged as the foundation for impeaching President Trump in 2019. An intelligence official speaking with Fox News Digital indicated that while the language in the referral is general, its focus is precisely on Atkinson and the initial whistleblower who raised concerns about President Trump's July 2019 telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In response to inquiries about the referrals, the ODNI directed Fox News Digital to a recent social media post by Representative Gabbard. In her post, Gabbard declared that newly declassified records had uncovered how actors within the intelligence community, whom she described as part of a deep state, constructed a fabricated narrative. This narrative, she contended, was then utilized by Congress to override the democratic will of the American people and impeach a duly elected president. The documents released by Gabbard earlier this week are reported to include transcripts from Atkinson’s closed-door testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, transcripts that were notably omitted from the House Judiciary Committee's proceedings during the initial impeachment trial. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford had previously led a vote in March to authorize the release of these transcripts. The ODNI's statement, as reflected in the documents, suggests that Atkinson failed to undertake basic due diligence and intentionally overstepped his legal authority. This alleged overreach involved mischaracterizing the President's call with President Zelenskyy as a matter of urgent concern to Congress. Intriguingly, during his own investigation, Atkinson reportedly noted that the whistleblower exhibited signs of political bias and favored a rival political candidate, even while still classifying the complaint as an urgent concern. The whistleblower’s complaint, received in August 2019, centered on President Trump's July 2019 phone call with President Zelenskyy. During this call, Trump had reportedly urged Ukraine to investigate the business dealings of the Biden family, specifically focusing on Hunter Biden's involvement with the Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings and the former Vice President Joe Biden's role in the dismissal of former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. At the time of the call, Hunter Biden was reportedly under a federal investigation, initiated in 2018, stemming from suspicions of illicit foreign transactions. Democrats interpreted President Trump's request as a quid pro quo, especially given the freeze on millions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Ukraine. They also accused Trump of interfering in the 2020 presidential election by soliciting investigations into a political rival from a foreign leader. Joe Biden himself has publicly acknowledged his role as vice president in pressuring Ukraine to dismiss Shokin. Shokin was, at that time, investigating Burisma Holdings, where Hunter Biden held a well-compensated position on the board, receiving substantial monthly payments. Biden had reportedly threatened to withhold $1 billion in critical U.S. aid unless Shokin was fired, a conversation he recounted during a 2018 event at the Council on Foreign Relations, noting with apparent satisfaction that the prosecutor was indeed fired and replaced by someone considered more amenable