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Top U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday that a discussion about attack plans that leaked to a journalist did not contain any classified information and did not break any rules about the use of messaging apps to conduct business.
“There was no classified material that was shared,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the Senate intelligence committee, flatly rejecting the accusations of Democrats.
But when asked specifically about reports that military targets were shared over the chat, she demurred, saying that was up to the Pentagon to answer.
Ms. Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were both part of a Signal messaging app chat discussing U.S. attacks on Houthi rebel forces in Yemen. A journalist, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, was included in the chat and reported the conversation on Monday, after the attacks were well underway.
The leak has enraged Trump administration critics.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the committee, said it exposed the “sloppy, careless, incompetent” behavior of Trump officials.
“The Signal fiasco is not a one-off,” Mr. Warner said, referring to the messaging app. “It is unfortunately a pattern we’re seeing too often repeated.”
The Virginia senator said from what he could tell, classified information was included in the chat, including the name of a CIA operative.
He also said Signal, an encrypted messaging app, may not be safe. He said foreign adversaries have been trying to crack the encryption.
Mr. Ratcliffe, though, said the CIA has judged Signal to be appropriate for use for the spy agency’s work and is, in fact, loaded onto CIA officers’ devices as a matter of course. It was loaded onto his computer when he was confirmed as director earlier this year.
Mr. Ratcliffe said there are some restrictions, such as memorializing any decisions in a more formal way for records retention purposes.
He said the CIA officer whose name was shared in the conversation doesn’t work undercover and sharing that name on the encrypted app was “completely appropriate.”
He said the chat was set up by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and the conversation made clear that classified information be shared over “high side” channels that can handle such data.
Mr. Ratcliffe said he’s not sure how the Atlantic journalist was added to the chat.
He and Ms. Gabbard said they would be willing to subject their devices to an audit to verify their claims about classified information not being shared.
Mr. Warner was not mollified, saying if the chat wasn’t classified, then they should be able to share all the messages publicly.
“You can’t have it both ways,” he said.
The White House says this month’s U.S. airstrikes that were the subject of the leaked chat were successful, including killing the Houthis’ “head missileer.”
Republicans on the committee Tuesday lacked the fury of Democrats, but several indicated they were worried.
“It appears to me there are some unanswered questions,” said Sen. Todd Young, Indiana Republican.
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