Michael Hernandez
26 March 2025•Update: 26 March 2025
WASHINGTON
It was a "mistake" for senior Trump administration officials to have discussed details of US military strikes on Houthi rebels in a group chat in which a journalist was included, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard acknowledged Wednesday.
Gabbard's concession before the House Intelligence Committee came as the administration finds itself embroiled in a deepening controversy. She said the text conversation was "candid and sensitive," but maintained "no classified information was shared" among President Donald Trump's top deputies.
"It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added to a signal chat with high-level national security principles having a policy discussion about imminent strikes against the Houthis and the effects of the strike," she told lawmakers. "There were no sources, methods, locations or war plans that were shared. This was a standard update to the national security cabinet that was provided alongside updates that were given to foreign partners in the region."
Gabbard said the Signal messaging app comes pre-installed on government-issued devices as an approved end-to-end encrypted messaging platform.
Hours earlier, the magazine whose top editor was inadvertently added to the discussion, released screenshots of the entire chat thread, revealing that Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg received attack plans regarding the March 13 strikes hours before the strikes were carried out, including critical details.
The decision to publish the materials came in the wake of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denying that any war plans were shared in the chat, and as senior officials maintained that no classified information was included.
Photos of the chat released by the Atlantic magazine show that Hegseth disclosed times of strikes, as well as which types of aircraft and weapons would be used.
"MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline) We are currently clean on OPSEC. Godspeed to our Warriors," Hegseth wrote, using government parlance to refer to operational security.
Democrats during the hearing Wednesday scoffed at the suggestion that none of the information discussed was classified, including Rep. Joaquin Castro, who rebuffed CIA Director John Ratcliffe, telling him such assertions are a "lie."
"The idea that this information, if it was presented to our committee, would not be classified, y'all know, is a lie. That's ridiculous," said Castro. "I've seen things much less sensitive be presented to us with high classification, and to say that it isn't is a lie to the country."
A handful of Democrats explicitly called for Hegseth to resign because of the scandal.
"It is completely outrageous to me that administration officials come before us today with impunity, no acceptance of responsibility, excuse after excuse after excuse, we send our men and women down range to do incredibly difficult, incredibly dangerous things on our behalf, and yet nobody is willing to come to us and say, 'this was wrong,'" said Rep, Jason Crow.
"It is outrageous, and it is a leadership failure, and that's why Secretary Hegseth, who undoubtedly transmitted classified, sensitive operational information via this chain must resign immediately," he added.
