US intel chiefs face Senate grilling over Yemen chat breach

WASHINGTON – Top US intelligence officials faced heated questions by Democratic senators on March 25 over the spectacular security breach that saw a journalist included in

a chat group discussion

about air strikes in Yemen.

The Senate Intelligence Committee hearing was nominally about

an annual report on national security threats

, but Democrats used the opportunity to hammer officials – two of whom were reported to be in the group chat – over the mounting row.

Pressed by Democratic vice-chairman Mark Warner over how military plans could be posted in Signal – a publicly available instant messaging app known for its encryption – director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard repeatedly denied that classified material had been shared.

But she refused to go into further detail or confirm her presence in the group.

Mr Warner criticised her reticence and urged her to share the content of the chat, if indeed no classified information had been divulged.

The breach was revealed on March 24 in an article by Mr Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, who said he had been given detailed plans on rebel Houthi targets in Yemen just hours before they were launched.

Others in the chat appeared to include Vice-President J.D. Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.

Mr Goldberg was initially sceptical but said he realised the chat was real when reports of strikes in Yemen emerged on the timeline that had been shared in the group, and at that point left.

He chose not to reveal the contents of all the messages for fear of compromising security and potentially endangering American forces in the Middle East.

But the existence of a group in which top Trump officials were discussing military planning in an unofficial chat app has raised widespread concerns about managing sensitive intelligence.

The White House confirmed the authenticity of the group chat, but also asserted that no classified information had been revealed.

Unlike Ms Gabbard, Central Intelligence Agency chief John Ratcliffe confirmed his presence in the chat to senators on March 25, but defended the decision to use Signal for the discussion.

Mr Warner appeared unconvinced.

“If this was the case of a military officer or an intelligence officer, and they had this kind of behaviour, they would be fired,” he said, branding the incident “one more example of the kind of sloppy, careless, incompetent behaviour, particularly towards classified information”.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden called for the resignations of Mr Waltz and Mr Hegseth.

The former is said to have been behind the inadvertent addition of Mr Goldberg into the group, while the latter is said to have shared the plans for the strikes on the Houthis. AFP