A covert task force launched under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has reportedly imploded after internal “drama,” conspiracy theories, and infighting sparked turmoil across the Trump administration’s intelligence apparatus.

And at the center of the meltdown was an explosive false accusation tied to January 6.

According to newly revealed Senate testimony, Gabbard’s Director’s Initiatives Group — a special team created to investigate alleged “weaponization” of the federal government — ultimately collapsed after members circulated a memo amplifying claims from a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter accusing a CIA employee of planting pipe bombs before the Capitol attack.

The accusation was false.

But the fallout inside federal agencies was massive.

The stunning revelations emerged in written testimony submitted by CIA senior operations officer James E. Erdman III to the Senate Homeland Security Committee chaired by Sen. Rand Paul.

His account directly contradicts previous public claims suggesting the task force had merely completed its temporary mission.

Instead, Erdman described an internal disaster.

“The memo and the ensuing drama that unfolded as a result helped spark a pause in DIG’s work,” he wrote, ultimately leading to the group’s dissolution in early 2026.

The scandal traces back to Steve Baker — a January 6 rioter later pardoned by Donald Trump — who contacted intelligence officials with conspiracy claims involving former Capitol Police officer Shauni Kerkhoff, who now works for the CIA.

Baker falsely accused Kerkhoff of being the mysterious pipe bomber connected to January 6.

According to testimony, members of Gabbard’s task force consulted senior intelligence officials about how to circulate Baker’s claims to agencies for potential investigation.

A memo was allegedly drafted and shared internally among intelligence leadership.

Then everything exploded.

After Blaze Media published Baker’s story, Kerkhoff was reportedly summoned by the FBI, interrogated, placed on administrative leave, and subjected to an intense federal search operation involving armed agents, helicopters, and bomb-disposal teams.

The allegations quickly unraveled.

Blaze Media later retracted the story and reportedly fired Baker.

But by then, the damage was already done.

Kerkhoff later described severe emotional distress, online harassment, security fears, and mental health struggles resulting from the conspiracy theory campaign.

According to reports, she spent money installing security systems and scrubbing personal information from the internet after being flooded with attacks online.

The controversy reportedly also triggered panic and infighting inside the Justice Department itself.

Just one day before Baker’s article was published, Ed Martin — then head of the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group — publicly declared the allegations false.

Still, conspiracy theories surrounding the so-called “pipe bomber” continued spiraling through right-wing media circles and political networks tied to Trump allies.

The collapse of Gabbard’s group now appears to reveal deep fractures inside the administration’s broader “weaponization” campaign — an effort Trump allies have used to investigate perceived enemies and revisit grievances connected to the Biden administration and January 6 prosecutions.

Critics have long warned the effort risked becoming politically motivated retaliation disguised as government oversight.

Now even insiders appear to be acknowledging the internal chaos.

The situation grew even stranger after another suspect, Brian Cole Jr., was later arrested and charged in connection with the pipe bombs — directly contradicting the conspiracy theory pushed by Baker and circulated within intelligence circles.

Yet the drama didn’t stop there.

An intelligence employee later publicly pressured former Attorney General Pam Bondi to scrutinize prosecutors connected to the pipe bomber investigation, while social media posts linked administration-aligned figures to harassment campaigns targeting federal officials.

According to the report, some of the same figures involved in spreading the conspiracy theories were later seen attending Senate hearings tied to the broader “weaponization” investigations.

Despite the implosion of Gabbard’s task force, Trump’s broader retribution agenda appears to be continuing aggressively.

The Justice Department recently unveiled a massive $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” connected to January 6-related claims, while other investigations targeting former federal officials continue expanding.

Critics say the latest revelations expose the dangers of politicizing intelligence agencies and empowering conspiracy-driven investigations inside government institutions.

Supporters argue the administration is simply uncovering hidden abuses within the federal system.

But after the collapse of Gabbard’s secretive group, one thing has become impossible to ignore:

The administration’s war over “weaponization” may now be consuming itself from within.