The Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is playing hardball with CNN over a story the outlet has not yet broadcast, sending a cease-and-desist letter to the cable newser saying that the claims alleged in the report are false and defamatory.

The April 4 letter addressed CNN chief executive Mark Thompson, reporter Casey Tolan, and the network’s general counsel, the Binnall Law Group, says that CNN would be defaming Ms. Gabbard if it airs a planned piece claiming that she is no longer a resident of Hawaii and alleging that she improperly voted in that state during the 2024 elections.

Her attorneys claim that CNN’s basis for their claims are due to a “homestead exemption,” which are normally filed to obtain lower tax rates, filed for property she purchased near Austin, Texas in 2024, making that her primary residence.

“We were notified that Cable News Network, Inc. (“CNN”), plans to publish a story that falsely asserts or implies that Tulsi Gabbard committed voter fraud and suggests that she had abandoned her longstanding Hawaii residency,” reads the letter, which was obtained by The Daily Wire.

“Any suggestion that she is no longer a resident because she took the advice of local officials to register a homestead exemption to protect her and her family’s privacy is flat wrong — factually and legally,” the letter states.

Ms. Gabbard’s attorneys, Jesse Binnall and Jason Greaves, claim that she declared a three-bedroom home in Leander, Texas she purchased in 2024 as her homestead on the advice of local officials who said it would be the best way to protect her family’s privacy. They point out that Texas case law makes clear that just because someone can claim a homestead exemption at one property does not negate them from being a resident elsewhere.

“The definitions of residency for the purpose of voting in Hawaii and for claiming a homestead exemption in Texas are totally different, and on their face, not mutually exclusive,” the letter says.

Ms. Gabbard’s legal team goes on to allege that CNN has falsely accused her of criminal conduct and is “inherently damaging” her reputation if it publishes the erroneous report.

Officials for CNN did not immediately return requests for comment. It was unclear if the network still has plans to publish its report.

“Attempting to dox a member of President Trump’s national security cabinet through illegitimate claims of voter fraud is a new low, even for CNN. This is not complicated. DNI Gabbard voted in Hawaii during the 2024 election because she is and has been a tax paying Hawaii resident.” DNI Press Secretary Olivia Coleman said in a statement to the New York Sun. 

“Her current status is no different than when she was a Member of Congress, where she maintained a mainland residence and a Hawaii residence as a tax-paying voter. Declaring her ‘homestead’ in Texas, per law, ensured her address would remain confidential in response to ongoing, high-level, credible threats against her and her family,” Ms. Coleman said.