Top US intelligence official criticizes Washington Post reporter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The top U.S. intelligence officer on Thursday leveled an unusual attack on a journalist, accusing a Washington Post reporter of "actively harassing" her staff in a social media post that also accused the media of seeking to undermine President Donald Trump's agenda.

In a post on X, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard criticized journalist Ellen Nakashima's reporting methods, saying they reflected a media establishment "desperate to sabotage POTUS's successful agenda," referring to the president of the United States.

In response, Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray said Nakashima has been "one of the most careful, fair-minded, and highly regarded reporters covering national security."

In a statement, he said Gabbard's attack reflected a misunderstanding about journalism. "Reaching out to potential sources rather than relying solely on official government press statements regarding matters of public interest is neither nefarious nor is it harassment," Murray said.

Public criticism of individual journalists by top U.S. national security officials is historically rare. But Trump has made attacks on the media a staple of his speeches and administration officials are increasingly adopting his approach to critical press coverage.

At a news conference last month, Trump's defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, also criticized the media, without evidence, for having anti-Trump bias. Hegseth's comments came at a briefing where he accused journalists of downplaying the success of strikes on Iran following a leaked preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggesting they may have only set back Iran by months.

Trump also recently demanded that CNN fire national security correspondent Natasha Bertrand for reporting about the Defense Intelligence Agency assessment.

CNN responded that it stood "100% behind" Bertrand's journalism.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)

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