Watch Live: Intel chiefs testify before House committee as new Signal texts emerge

Washington — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe are back on Capitol Hill to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday as new text messages came to light from a group chat in which top Trump officials discussed sensitive plans to strike targets in Yemen. 

Shortly before the hearing began, The Atlantic published additional messages that it originally withheld showing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided detailed information to the group of senior Trump officials about the strikes, including timing of when fighter jets would take off and what kind of weapons would be used.

“This was 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched, and two hours and one minute before the beginning of a period in which a primary target, the Houthi ‘Target Terrorist,’ was expected to be killed by these American aircraft,” wrote editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was inadvertently added to the group. “If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests — or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media — the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds. The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic.” 

Gabbard and Ratcliffe were both grilled by Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday about the security breach. Both acknowledged to lawmakers that they were part of the chat, while denying that classified information was shared over the commercial app. 

Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, pressed both of them about whether targets, weapons systems or timing were discussed in the chat during Tuesday’s hearing. Both claimed they did not recall those details being discussed. 

“In the Signal chain that we have been talking about, was there any mention of a target in Yemen?” Kelly said. 

“I don’t remember mention of specific targets,” Gabbard responded. Ratcliffe said that answer was “consistent with my recollection.”

Gabbard also said she didn’t recall “specific names of systems or weapons being used or named,” which Ratcliffe echoed. They also said they did not remember mentions of timing or military assets that were used. 

President Trump said Tuesday that he would “look into” whether administration officials should continue using the encrypted messaging app to communicate, but largely dismissed the severity of the leak. 

Gabbard and Ratcliffe are appearing before the House Intelligence Committee alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse at a hearing ostensibly focused on the global security threats facing the U.S. 

Annual threat assessment 

This week’s House and Senate hearings coincide with the release of the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment. This year’s 31-page report details threats posed by foreign illicit drug actors, such as drug cartels in Mexico, Islamic extremists, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. 

“Cooperation among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea has been growing more rapidly in recent years, reinforcing threats from each of them individually while also posing new challenges to U.S. strength and power globally,” the assessment says. 

According to the report, Russia’s war in Ukraine has accelerated cooperation between the four nations and Russia has become increasingly reliant on the other countries to carry out its military objectives and mitigate economic consequences imposed by its adversaries. 

Despite the heavy costs associated with the Ukraine invasion, “Russia has proven adaptable and resilient” and its air forces are “more modern and capable than at the start of the invasion,” the assessment says. 

“The war in Ukraine has afforded Moscow a wealth of lessons regarding combat against Western weapons and intelligence in a large-scale war,” the report says. “This experience probably will challenge future U.S. defense planning, including against other adversaries with whom Moscow is sharing those lessons learned.” 

It added that the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin loses his grip on power “probably is less likely now than at any point in his quarter-century rule.” 

China is viewed as “most capable” of threatening U.S. interests abroad. The country poses “the most comprehensive and robust” military threat to U.S. national security and the “most active and persistent” cyber threat to government, private sector and critical infrastructure networks in the U.S., according to the report. But intelligence agencies assess China as being “more cautious than Russia, Iran, and North Korea about risking its economic and diplomatic image in the world by being too aggressive and disruptive.” 

The intelligence community expects Beijing to dial up pressure on Taiwan in 2025 as it seeks reunification with the self-ruled island. 

Meanwhile, Iran will continue to target former and current U.S. officials over the killing of Qassem Soleimani, who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the report said. Mr. Trump, however, has revoked the security details for several former officials despite the ongoing threat posed by Iran. 

The report also says that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has not reauthorized the program, “though pressure has probably built on him to do so.” 

In North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un is increasing his stockpile of nuclear warheads and has “no intention of negotiating away his strategic weapons programs, which he perceives as a guarantor of regime security and national pride.”