Top intelligence officials Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe told the Senate under oath on Tuesday that no classified content was shared in a Signal group chat created by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz to coordinate military actions against the Houthis.
“There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal chat,” Gabbard stated during the hearing. Ratcliffe echoed that, saying, “My communications, to be clear, in the signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information.”
Gabbard reaffirmed, “I can attest to the fact that there were not classified or intelligence equities that were included in that chat group at any time.”
These testimonies directly contradict accusations by Democrats and critics of President Trump, who have suggested that classified material was irresponsibly circulated in a chat that mistakenly included a vocal Trump opponent from The Atlantic.
On Monday, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that he was inadvertently added to a Signal group on March 13, which included 17 senior Trump-era national security officials. The chat focused on U.S. strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen that took place two days later, on March 15. In his report, Goldberg claimed that the chat contained what appeared to be classified material.
The New York Post later reported that Goldberg, who appears as “JG” on Signal, was likely added in error. The intended recipient was thought to be Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, who shares the same initials.
Opponents of Trump have seized on the incident as another example of alleged mismanagement of sensitive intelligence under his administration.
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, devoted a large portion of his opening remarks — and most of his questioning of Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and FBI Director Kash Patel — to highlighting the story and pressing for answers.
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