WASHINGTON — The top House Democrats on military, intelligence, foreign affairs and government affairs oversight committees are demanding answers from senior Trump administration officials on the leak of secret attack plans on Iranian-backed militants in Yemen by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The release of national security secrets occurred when Trump administration officials included the Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, in a group chat on the commercial messaging app Signal in the runup to the series of airstrikes on Houthi rebels on March 15.
Among their nine questions included in the letter to Hegseth are demands for information on whether if the leak could have “compromised the safety of members of the U.S. armed forces or those of a U.S. ally or partner?”
“We are deeply troubled by the report in The Atlantic that you and other Trump Administration officials conferred about highly sensitive national security matters, including ‘precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing’ concerning military actions against the Houthis, via the open-source Signal messaging service,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by USA TODAY.
The letter was written by Rep. Adam Smith, ranking member of the Armed Services Committee; Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking of the Intelligence Committee; and Rep. Gerald Connolly, ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Republicans control the House, leaving Democrats without the ability to call hearings on the security breach.
Instead, in their letter, the congressmen are seeking answers from Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence and Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor.
Trump administration officials have acknowledged that the contents of the chat reported by The Atlantic are authentic. The Pentagon declined to comment on Hegseth’s role in divulging sensitive information, referring questions to the National Security Council.
The lawmakers wrote that they were especially concerned that senior Trump administration officials relied on an encrypted commercial messaging app that is not approved for secure communication.
“These actions could have compromised the operational security of, and by implication the safety of the service members involved in, the related military activities,” the congressmen wrote.
A U.S. official late Monday called the leak a violation practice and law, adding that a lower-ranking official would likely have been fired immediately for the breach. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
