A newly declassified intelligence summary is raising questions about whether U.S. taxpayer funds intended for Ukraine were part of a broader scheme to benefit Democratic political operations and then-President Joe Biden, according to officials familiar with the matter. The allegation is now being reviewed after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard requested a deeper examination of the underlying records.
Gabbard asked officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development to conduct a review of contracts, payments, and internal communications tied to the claims, officials said. The effort could lead to a criminal referral to the Federal Bureau of Investigation if supporting evidence is found, Just The News reported.
The declassified document is described as a summary of raw intelligence intercepts collected by U.S. agencies in late 2022. Officials who reviewed the material said the allegation did not appear to receive significant follow-up inside the government at the time.
Gabbard’s team has not identified evidence showing the claims were fully investigated during the Biden administration, according to officials. The intercepts also are not believed to be tied to Russian disinformation efforts, those officials said.
According to the summary, the alleged plan involved using foreign aid channels as a political pipeline. The report claims Ukrainian officials and unspecified U.S. personnel working through USAID in Kyiv discussed funding an infrastructure project that would serve as a cover for redirecting money.
“The Ukrainian Government and unspecified U.S. Government personnel, through USAID in Kyiv, reportedly developed a plan that would provide hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund an infrastructure project for Ukraine that would be used as a cover to send approximately 90% of funds allocated to the DNC to fund Joe Biden’s reelection campaign,” the summary stated.
“They were confident the project would be funded initially, even though at some time in the future the project would be disapproved as unnecessary,” the report added. “At this time, the money would already be allocated and impossible to return or use for a different purpose.”
The summary said the alleged plan relied on subcontracting layers to make tracking funds difficult. Officials said two American subcontractors were referenced in the intercepts, but their names remain redacted in the declassified version.
“The plan included details of how subcontractors would be funded through U.S. companies so that how the funds were spent and allocated would be difficult to track,” the report stated. “Additionally, contracts would be executed that would be difficult to verify.”
The allegations come at a sensitive time for Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues negotiations with envoys from President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war with Russia.
Ukraine has faced ongoing scrutiny over corruption concerns even as it receives continued Western support.
Over the weekend, President Trump also revealed that Gabbard has a “softer” stance than he does on Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, adding that he still has confidence in his director of national intelligence.
“I would say that I am very strong on the fact that I don’t want Iran to have a nuclear weapon because if they had a nuclear weapon they’d use it immediately. I think she’s probably a little softer on that issue, but that’s okay. Some people are,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route back to Washington.
“Most people aren’t. Most people are saying thank you very much for doing what you did,” he continued.
The president made the comments when asked whether he still has confidence in Gabbard.
“Yeah, sure,” Trump responded to the question. “I mean she’s a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn’t make somebody not available to serve.”