Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Ratcliffe said Tuesday that the use of Signal among government officials is “permissible” for internal discussions following the accidental leak of military plans on the platform.
The White House confirmed Monday that officials inadvertently added The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a chat where they discussed detailed plans of an upcoming attack on the Houthis in Yemen, prompting questions about the legality of having these conversations on Signal. Ratcliffe said during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that he was briefed on the legality of using Signal for important discussions upon being confirmed for his position.
“So that we’re clear, one of the first things that happened when I was confirmed as CIA director was Signal was loaded onto my computer at the CIA, as it is for most CIA officers,” Ratcliffe said. “One of the first things that I was briefed on very early, senator, by the CIA Records Management folks was the use of Signal as a permissible work use. It is. That is a practice that preceded the previous administration to the [former President Joe] Biden administration.”
WATCH:
In the Signal chat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote out the military’s detailed plan for attacking the Houthis, including the targets, the type of weaponry and the timing of the planned attack, Goldberg said in a Monday piece for The Atlantic. The chat included a conversation between Ratcliffe, Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
President Donald Trump said he was unaware of Goldberg’s story or about the leak, although he stood by Waltz by saying he had “learned a lesson” after it had been reported that he accidentally added Goldberg to the chat. Goldberg wrote in his piece that Vance expressed hesitation about launching the attack, reportedly stating that the action may contradict President Donald Trump’s recent toughness on Europe.
The vice president’s office later told the Daily Caller that Trump and Vance are in “complete agreement” about foreign policy matters.
Goldberg reasoned that if the chat truly consisted of government officials, then an attack in Yemen would take place at 1:45 p.m. eastern time on March 15. After learning that the attacks happened as planned, he abruptly left the chat.
Gabbard and Ratcliffe told the Senate Intelligence Committee that no classified information had been leaked from the chat.
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