During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday, Democratic senators questioned top security officials regarding their participation in a Signal group chat, where war plans were mistakenly disclosed to a journalist. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, a ranking committee member, criticized the incident, describing it as “mind-boggling.”
Warner expressed concern over senior officials using an unclassified channel, noting the carelessness of inadvertently including a journalist in the conversation. This hearing coincided with a report by Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, who revealed he had been added to the chat where high-ranking officials discussed bombings targeting Houthis in Yemen.
In conversation with NPR, Goldberg confirmed that he was not vetted before joining the chat, deeming the incident a significant breach of U.S. national security. President Donald Trump, addressing reporters after the hearing, downplayed the breach, asserting that no classified information was shared.
NPR also reported on a Pentagon advisory issued last week, advising against using Signal for unclassified communication due to a identified vulnerability. At the hearing, Warner criticized the actions of the officials as “sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior,” suggesting that similar conduct from military or intelligence officers would lead to termination.
The committee members, including Warner, expressed disappointment that Republican colleagues did not emphasize the issue. Warner mentioned that many Republicans also shared the concerns but did not defend those involved in the Signal incident. Discussions highlighted the sensitivity of the information shared, which, if leaked, could benefit adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran.
Warner further criticized Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, and CIA head John Ratcliffe’s handling of the matter. Although Gabbard claimed the information shared was not classified, Warner disagreed, citing that the details included were typically considered sensitive.
The incident raised broader concerns about information security and accountability within the administration. Warner stressed the importance of bipartisan cooperation to ensure transparency and proper investigation into the breach. NPR noted that a past incident involved the accidental disclosure of CIA agents’ names, underscoring ongoing security challenges within the administration.
