An annual meeting of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Tuesday morning put the spotlight on internal threats, rather than worldwide.
“Our annual Worldwide Threats Hearing allows for the American public to receive an unvarnished and unbiased account of the real and present dangers that our nation faces,” Committee Chair Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said.
While America does face threats from outside, including Communist China working to replace the U.S. as a dominant superpower, Iran and foreign production of illegal drugs, discussion Tuesday focused on a group chat between several members of President Donald Trump’s administrative staff, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance.
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, who has been on the committee for 14 years, serves as vice chair and represents Virginia.
“And this year’s assessment is clearly one of the most complicated and challenging in my tenure on the committee,” Warner said.
Then, Warner jumped right in to what was breaking news for American media on Monday.
“Yesterday, we stunningly learned that senior members of this administration and according to reports, two of our witnesses here today, were members of a group chat that discussed highly sensitive and likely classified information that supposedly even included ‘weapons packages, targets and timing,’ and included the name of an active CIA agent,” Warner said.
Classified information should never be discussed over an unclassified system, according to Warner, but, especially not leaked to a member of the American press. Atlantic Editor Jeffrey Goldberg, who is Jewish and left college to live in Israel and serve in the Israel Defense Forces, has written critically of Trump since 2016.
Warner said he questions whether the individuals involved in the group text were using personal or government devices.
If a military or intelligence officer behaved in such a way, Warner said they would be fired.
“I think this is one more example of the kind of sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior, particularly toward classified information, that this is not a one off or a first-time error,” Warner said of the Trump Administration’s actions since January 20.
He proceeded to cite examples: the cancellation of all U.S. foreign assistance, the firing of the most experienced FBI agents, firing more than 300 staff at National Nuclear Security Administration, firing 1,000 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health.
“The amazing thing is our intelligence officers, they’re not interchangeable like a Twitter coder. Our country makes $20,000 to $40,000 of an investment just in getting a security clearance. It literally goes into six figures when you take the training involved. Can anyone tell how firing probationary individuals without any consideration for merit or expertise is an efficient use of taxpayer dollars? And, just to make clear that yesterday’s story in the Atlantic was not this rookie one-off, it’s a pattern,” Warner said.
Early in the administration, the use of a new unclassified network resulted in the exposure of the identities of hundreds of CIA officers, who cannot go into the field now.
Warner is most troubled by the fact that the Trump Administration believes that the U.S. can solve all of its problems on its own without foreign assistance.
“But America first cannot mean America alone,” Warner said of the need for the intelligence community to sometimes share information with other countries.
The Trump Administration is also treating allies like adversaries and adversaries like allies.
“I feel our credibility is being enormously undermined with our allies,” Warner said. He said he is afraid that “the erosion of trust from our workplace, from our companies, and from our allies and partners can’t be put back in the bottle overnight. Make no mistake, these actions make America less safe.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made a statement for the panel of witnesses and said that what most threatens the lives of Americans are non-state, including drug cartels, and criminal groups, including sex trafficking and cyberattacks. Increased border patrol is important to prevent such groups from entering the U.S.
According to Gabbard, foreign threats include China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. “These actors are in some cases working together,” she said. The People’s Republic of China is the biggest threat as it seeks to assert itself on the world stage.
Warner brought discussion back to Signalgate by asking Gabbard if she participated in the group chat, which she refused to answer. CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed he participated and said that Signal was used by the CIA before he became director. He and Gabbard said the information shared was not classified.
“You can’t have it both ways. These are important jobs. This is our national security,” Warner said. He read a post on X from less than two weeks ago by Gabbard stating that sharing classified information is a violation of law.
Gabbard said a difference exists between inadvertent and malicious leaks of information.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said of Signalgate that he and his colleagues are concerned about “potential crimes that ought to be investigated immediately.”
“I’m of the view that there ought to be resignations starting with the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of Defense,” Wyden said. He asked Gabbard and Ratcliffe if they would both participate in an audit to confirm they have not shared classified information via a group chat. They both said they would comply.
Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia asked Gabbard if she were using her personal or government cell phone during the group chat.
“I won’t speak to this, because it’s under review by the National Security Council,” Gabbard said. “Once that review is complete, I’m sure we’ll share the results with the committee.”
Cotton instructed the witnesses to prepare for written questions from some members of the committee.
Following the hearing, Warner and other lawmakers have demanded on social media that all persons involved in Signalgate should be relieved of their positions.
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Rebecca Barnabi
