Congressional Democrats said they will raise on Tuesday during the annual global threat assessment before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee the apparent lapse in operational security as top Cabinet members discussed secret war plans for Yemen over the Signal messaging app that also inadvertently included a journalist in the group chat, The Washington Post reported.
The text chain revealed in Monday's article in the Atlantic — and the accidental inclusion of a journalist on that chain — was so "reckless," the journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote, that even he had trouble believing at first that it was real.
At least two of the officials scheduled to testify — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe — were among those who took part in the group chat, which was convened by national security adviser Michael Waltz.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth detailed targets, weapons, and strategy involved in a U.S. air attack on the Houthis earlier this month.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the committee's ranking Democrat, wrote on X that "this administration is playing fast and loose with our nation's most classified info, and it makes all Americans less safe."
He added in another post that "we all know if a Democrat had started that group chat, there would be wall-to-wall hearings, people would get fired, careers would end. Today, we're starting that accountability with an open hearing in the Intel Committee."
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., the committee chairman, declined to comment on what issues he thought would be raised during the hearing or on the apparent security breach by the war planning over the messaging app, according to The Washington Post.
But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who has challenged the administration on certain issues, said she was "virtually positive that it will come up" in Tuesday's hearing.
Democrats on the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee, which will hear from the same administration witnesses in its own global threat assessment hearing on Wednesday, said that they would also bring up the episode there.
"If these details fell into the hands of America's enemies, it could get people killed," Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor. "It could severely harm our military. It would put America's national security in danger."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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