Guidelines for classified information shows Signal chat should have been secret: expert

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, and at least one former lawyer thinks that they may have lied under oath about classified intelligence in a group chat.

On Monday, a bombshell report in The Atlantic alleged that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared secret war plans in a Signal chat that included a reporter among its membership.

The story reveals a Signal chat among top officials in President Donald Trump's Cabinet who discussed classified military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. Gabbard and Ratcliffe disputed that the information was classified during the hearing, but also maintained they couldn't discuss what was in the thread.

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A purported former CIA lawyer who goes under the pseudonym "Secrets and Laws" posted a side-by-side comparison of one of the statements made by Hegseth in the Signal chat, beside "the applicable CENTCOM Classification Guide provisions."

CENTCOM is the United States Central Command and serves as one of the 11 combatant commands in the Department of Defense, its website explains. The details they cited appear on page 35 of the classification guide.

The details prohibited in the guide include, "Concept of operations, including order of battle, execution circumstances, operating locations, resources required, tactical maneuvers, deployments, action and objectives."

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) asked the Trump administration officials questions that specifically targeted the discussion for the strike and whether such classified details were discussed in the Signal chat. He asked if operational details were discussed, such as possible targets in Yemen, weapons or weapons systems, or anything about timing for the strikes.

Gabbard and Ratcliffe indicated that generic targets were discussed, and neither could recall other specifics.

However, the Hegseth chat message shows specifics about date and time of the mission/operation, timelines and schedules, and details prohibited by the CENTCOM Classification Guide.

Former prosecutor Elisabeth Epps responded to a screen capture of one of the Signal messages sent by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. "As we stated .. in the first PC..." Waltz wrote, leading others to wonder if he was referencing another private chat.

"Routinely using Signal to evade statutory retention requirements," cited Epps. "That sure does seem familiar. I wonder why."

Gabbard also testified under oath on Tuesday that there was no classified information in the Signal chat.