CIA Director Says Signal Is ‘Permissible’ For Government Use Following Inadvertent Leak Of Planned Attack

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 Biden administration.”

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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.