A bombshell report in The Atlantic revealed that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth shared classified war plans in a Signal chat that included a reporter among its membership. It's something that President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence had previously warned was unacceptable just days earlier.
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.
DNI Tulsi Gabbard lambasted any release of classified information around the same time.
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"Any unauthorized release of classified information is a violation of the law and will be treated as such," Gabbard posted on X on March 14.
Gabbard was among those in the Signal group discussing the classified information.
Sam Stein of The Bulwark reposted Gabbard's comment after hunting down the timeline of her post on X and Gabbard's responses in the Signal chat.
"Goldberg says the Signal group chat started on March 13. Gabbard appeared to write in that chat minutes later Gabbard sent this tweet the next day The Houthi strikes happened two days later," he said.
Atlantic reporter Shane Harris remarked, "In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on the Houthis in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic."
It was a sentiment that Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) reposted, commenting, "Last week, Tulsi Gabbard said 'any unauthorized release of classified information is a violation of law and will be treated as such.' By the Trump admin’s own 'standards' everyone on this chain would lose their access to classified info and be subject to criminal investigation."
"Wow, @TulsiGabbard . And you were a witness to just such unauthorized release. Gonna make a compelling trial," said national security expert Marcy Wheeler.
Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) said that stories like these would impact foreign relations.
"I’ll say what I’ve been saying for 2 months now: If I were one of America’s allies, no way would I share intelligence with America. I’ve always said that [because] I believe Tulsi Gabbard & Donald Trump are siding with Russia. This s--- today only reinforces what I’ve been saying," Walsh said.
