Three of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet members defended the administration’s conduct at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday, shortly after a follow-up report from The Atlantic showing messages related to a military attack on Houthis in Yemen that were inadvertently sent to its editor-in-chief.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe both rejected Democrats’ claims that the Signal chat’s exposures constituted a leak of classified information.
At the end of her opening statement, Gabbard acknowledged the unfortunate nature of the leak.
“It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added to a Signal chat with high-level national security principals having a policy discussion about imminent strikes against the Houthis and the effects of the strike,” said Gabbard, who added that national security…
