Intelligence chiefs to face grilling from House Democrats over Signal blunder

House Democrats will on Wednesday demand answers from two US intelligence chiefs who were revealed as members of a group chat used by Trump administration officials to discuss plans to bomb Yemen in the presence of a journalist.

News of the group chat’s existence and the inclusion of Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, has prompted outrage on Capitol Hill at a convenient time for Democrats, who are in the minority in both the Senate and House of Representatives and reeling from Donald Trump’s return to the White House two months ago.

The director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, both participants in the group chat on the Signal app, are giving annual testimony to lawmakers with their assessments of the threats facing the United States, and Democratic senators already peppered them with questions at an intelligence committee hearing on Tuesday.

The Democratic ranking member Jim Himes said they could expect the same treatment before the House intelligence committee on Wednesday.

“I am horrified by reports that our most senior national security officials, including the heads of multiple agencies, shared sensitive and almost certainly classified information via a commercial messaging application, including imminent war plans,” he said.

“These individuals know the calamitous risks of transmitting classified information across unclassified systems, and they also know that if a lower-ranking official under their command did what is described here, they would likely lose their clearance and be subject to criminal investigation. The American people deserve answers, and I plan to get some on Wednesday at the intelligence committee’s worldwide threats hearing.”

At the Senate intelligence committee hearing on Tuesday, Democrats questioned Gabbard and Ratcliffe extensively about the Signal group, while Republicans either avoided the topic or said they would ask about it in a private session.

Gabbard declined to answer many questions, saying the matter was under investigation by the national security council, while Ratcliffe argued that using Signal was permitted by government rules. However, both declined to give many specifics, including how Goldberg came to be added to the group.

“You’re the CIA director. Why didn’t you call out that [Goldberg] was present on the Signal thread?” the Democratic senator Michael Bennet asked Ratcliffe at one point.