A Democratic senator absolutely tore apart CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Tuesday as he and other lawmakers raked U.S. intel officials over the coals after a leaked text message chain was exposed the day before.
It all started when Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), the last of several members of the Senate Intelligence Committee to grill President Donald Trump’s heads of national security divisions, turned his attention to Ratcliffe over the Signal message group that included The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg.
“Director Ratcliffe, this was a huge mistake. Correct?” Ossoff said, referring to the Goldberg’s inadvertent inclusion on the discussion of an imminent strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
“No,” Ratcliffe responded.
“A national political reporter was made privy to sensitive information about imminent military against a foreign terrorist organization, and that wasn’t a huge mistake?” Ossoff questioned as Ratcliffe tried to talk over him. “This is an embarrassment. This is utterly unprofessional. There’s been no apology. There has been no recognition of the gravity of this error. And by the way, we will get the full transcript of this chain and your testimony will be measured carefully against its content.”
It was one of many heated moments during the tense hearing, which also included FBI Director Kash Patel and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard.
Earlier in the hearing, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) bashed Ratcliffe and Gabbard.
More on the Trump Admin War Plan Leak:
- Trump Dismisses Bombshell War Plans Leak as a ‘Glitch,’ Goes to Bat for NSA Mike Waltz: He ‘Learned His Lesson’
- Wall Street Journal Calls Out JD Vance for Trying to ‘Block’ Trump’s Strikes on Houthis: ‘Mr. Trump Now Knows’
- Fox’s Peter Doocy Mocks Trump Admin Over Cabinet Group Chat: ‘Well, They Did Promise to Be the Most Transparent White House Ever’
- ‘That’s A Lie!’ Jeffrey Goldberg Smacks Down Hegseth Denial Over Blockbuster Leak
- Fox’s Lawrence Jones Makes Excuse for Sharing ‘Top Secret’ War Plans on Signal: ‘They All Use It’
- ‘Never Seen a Story Like This’: Bombshell Report On Trump’s Leaked War Plans Sends Shockwaves Through Washington
“Putting aside for a moment that classified information should never be discussed over an unclassified system, it’s also just mind-boggling to me that all these senior folks were on this line and nobody bothered to even check!” Warner said. “Security hygiene 101 — who are all the names? Who are they?”
Prior to the hearing, Warner — in a post on X — called for the resignations of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (who Goldberg said added him to the chat) and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (who discussed detailed war plans).
The post Dem Lawmaker Rips Into CIA Honcho Over Leaked Text Chain: ‘Utterly Unprofessional’ first appeared on Mediaite.
