Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard rescinded two controversial Biden-era assessments Thursday that concluded the condition known as Havana Syndrome was unlikely to be the result of foreign adversaries attacking US personnel.
The retracted Intelligence Community Assessments selectively excluded evidence and intelligence, mischaracterized sources “to suppress alternative analyses,” omitted key information related to source quality and relied on an “ethically flawed medical study,” Gabbard’s office said in a memo to congressional leaders.
The two assessments – declassified versions of which were released in March 2023 and January 2025 – both concluded that a foreign adversary was “very unlikely” to be responsible for the anomalous health incidents (AHI) reported by hundreds of US intelligence and diplomatic personnel beginning in 2016.
The assessments suggested pre-existing medical conditions, conventional illnesses and environmental factors could be to blame.
In January, the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee had called on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to retract the Biden-era findings amid mounting evidence that a microwave weapon may be responsible for the mysterious illness.
“This is huge news for the AHI victim community, analytic integrity, and for the American people,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) wrote on X.
“These flawed, fraudulent, and manufactured Intelligence Community Assessments (ICA) have caused significant harm to some of our nation’s bravest,” Crawford continued.
The congressman charged that the assessments were “deliberately manufactured and used to discredit some of our nation’s bravest and impede their access to medical care.”
“Today’s action by [Gabbard] is a glimmer of hope for our nation’s intelligence officers, service members, and diplomats stationed around the world who have defended this country in austere locations and subsequently had the nation they served turn its back on them”
Gabbard’s office noted that future Havana Syndrome assessments “will adhere to rigorous ethical standards, incorporating all available intelligence sources and engaging a broad range of experts.”
Havana Syndrome symptoms vary from person to person, but typically include ear pain, memory lapses, fatigue, migraines, dizziness, cognitive problems, and hearing loss. Over 1,500 cases have been reported from personnel in dozens of countries since it first started popping up in diplomats in Cuba.
Multiple sources have previously told The Post that US intelligence agencies internally believe Russia may be responsible for the attacks.
In 2024, undercover American agents secretly purchased a miniaturized microwave weapon from a Russian criminal network for roughly $15 million as part of Pentagon-backed effort aimed at determining what could be causing Havana Syndrome, CBS News reported in March.
The classified weapon was tested on animals at a US military lab and produced neurological injuries similar to those seen in Havana Syndrome patients, the outlet reported.
The retraction of the Havana Syndrome ICAs could be one of Gabbard’s final acts as DNI.
She is departing from her post next week to be with her husband, who is battling cancer.
President Trump has appointed the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, to serve as the acting director of national intelligence.
Earlier Thursday, Trump said US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton would be nominated to serve as DNI on a permanent basis.
Gabbard’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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