Top US Intel Officials Defend Signal Chats Seen by Journalist

The US’s top two intelligence officials defended their participation in a Signal messaging chat in which attack plans for strikes against Houthi rebels were shared, and denied that the information they discussed was classified.

“My communications, to be clear, in a Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information,” Central Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were among the Trump team members who were included in a non-governmental messaging chat in which The Atlantic’s top editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently included.

Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday.

Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg

The revelations, ...