Ratcliffe, Gabbard Grilled over Atlantic Bombshell in Heated Hearing, Insist No Classified Info Shared

Top intelligence chiefs faced difficult questions from a Senate panel Tuesday about a bombshell report alleging that high-ranking Trump administration officials discussed a sensitive military operation in a group chat, which a journalist had been inadvertently added to.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee just one day after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, published a scathing article accusing National Security Adviser Mike Waltz of adding him to a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal which was then being used by top Trump officials to plan an imminent airstrike on the Houthis in Yemen.

Senate Intelligence Committee vice chairman Mark Warner (D., Va.) kicked off the hearing by tearing into the assembled Trump officials for their reckless handling of classified information.

Gabbard and Ratcliffe responded by insisting that the Signal chat Goldberg exposed was not used to send any classified information.

Gabbard would not acknowledge personally participating in the chat, insisting that she could not “get into specifics” because the situation was being investigated. She did specify, however, that “there was no classified information that was shared in that group chat.”

Ratcliffe admitted to participating in the chat but said his communications were “entirely permissible and lawful” and explained that the CIA permits the use of Signal for work purposes, as long as decisions made in the chat are also recorded on official government channels.

Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed Monday that Waltz accidentally added him to a Signal chat alongside Hegseth, Ratcliffe, Vice President JD Vance, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, and other top officials.

Goldberg did not disclose all of the information put into the group chat, but he described how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out “operational details” of the strikes on Yemen and shared some of the chat’s celebratory messages from after the strikes occurred. After the strikes, Goldberg removed himself from the chat.

Pressed by Senators Ron Wyden (D. Ore.) and Heinrich (D., N.M.), Gabbard and Ratcliffe repeatedly asserted that no classified information was shared in the Signal chat and said they were not aware of Hegseth providing details about weapons systems and the timing of strikes. At the same time, Gabbard deferred to Hegseth and the National Security Council, which is currently investigating the matter. Gabbard gave the same answer to Senator Angus King (I., Maine) who expressed skepticism with how the information Hegseth put in the Signal chat would not be classified.

“I think clearly reflects that the National Security Advisor intended this to be, as it should have been, a mechanism for coordinating between senior level officials, but not a substitute for using high side or classified communications for anything that would be classified,” Ratcliffe testified.

Heinrich asked Ratcliffe about Goldberg’s revelation that he shared the name of a CIA official in the Signal chat, to which Ratcliffe responded with an explanation of how the official was assisting with coordinating on the government’s classified email system. Ratcliffe said it was “completely appropriate” to give the name of the CIA official in order to coordinate with the White House.

Senator Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.) returned to the subject of the Signal thread, and asked Gabbard and Ratcliffe point-blank about the specific information discussed. Gabbard did not recall any discussions of specific targets, but admitted “there was discussion around targets in general.” Neither intelligence chief recalled talks about specific weapons systems or military units, and Gabbard did not recall any conversations about specific strike timing.

Although the Trump administration confirmed the authenticity of the Signal chat, the White House has insisted that no classified information was shared in the chat and questioned Goldberg’s credibility, accusing him of peddling falsehoods about Trump in the past.

“As I said yesterday, the President continues to have confidence in his national security team, including Mike Waltz,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“Stories claiming otherwise are driven by anonymous sources who clearly do not speak to the President, and written by reporters who are thirsty for a ‘scoop.'”

Trump personally defended Waltz Tuesday morning amid calls for accountability for creating a Signal chat and inadvertently putting Goldberg in it.

“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” Trump told NBC News.

Given Ratcliffe and Gabbard’s testimony about the messages not having classified information, multiple Senators wondered why the Trump administration would not turn over all of the messages to the Senate Intelligence Committee.