“Unless you are using #GPG, email is not end-to-end encrypted, & the contents of a message can be intercepted & read at many points, including on Google’s email servers,” said Eva Galperin, director of #cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

#NationalSecurity experts have expressed alarm over the #Trump admin’s denial that the leaked #Signal chat contained #classified information.

…#Hegseth & other snr officials have argued that the information he shared was not #classified, & that it was ultimately up to his dept to decide what of its info should be considered classified.

#NationalSecurity experts said that argument fails a test of basic common sense about the danger of letting #military plans leak before an operation, & that it goes against longtime practice among military & #intelligence agencies.

Dating back to at least the Reagan admin, the govt has considered the details of “#military plans, weapons, or operations” to be #classified.

…Under federal #law, it is possible for people to be charged with crimes for mishandling national #defense information that is not classified, but such prosecutions are very rare.

“What we should be talking about is, it was a very successful mission,” she said, before quickly accusing Democrats from previous administrations of mishandling #classified info [who faced investigations].

“If you want to talk about classified information, talk about what was in Hillary Clinton’s home,” she said. “Talk about the classified documents in Joe Biden’s garage, that Hunter Biden had access to.”

“This chat was alleged to have included #classified information pertaining to sensitive military actions in Yemen. If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive & classified information, as well as the sharing of such information with those who do not have proper clearance & need to know,” the senators wrote.

Rep #JimmyGomez, #Democrat CA, asked if #Gabbard or #Ratcliffe had any info as to whether #Defense Sec #PeteHegseth had been drinking the day he texted clearly #classified information on #Signal.
Gomez’s question resulted in an explosion of feigned indignation from Ratcliffe–accusing Gomez of inappropriate behavior. Gomez replied #Hegseth’s alcohol abuse was a concern to Americans & he’d sworn in his confirmation hearing he’d quit. Yet, Hegseth recently appeared at a podium in Europe w/a drink.

#JasonCrow showed the advanced air defense systems the #Houthis have, & then said it was outrageous that the #Trump admin was not accepting responsibility for the leak. “It is a leadership failure, & that’s why Secretary #Hegseth, who undoubtedly transmitted #classified sensitive operational information via this chain, must #resign immediately,” he said.

While Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi, #Democrat of IL, spoke, he displayed an oversized printout of the #Signal texts published by #TheAtlantic this morning. #Krishnamoorthi referenced the graphic multiple times while questioning Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director of the #Defense #Intelligence Agency, on whether the information detailing operational plans was #classified or not.

Kruse admitted his agency would define the type of information shared as classified.

In the #intelligence hearing, Rep #JoaquinCastro, #Democrat of Texas, took issue with the intelligence officials saying the information in the #Signal chat on the #Houthi strikes was not #classified. “You all know that’s a lie,” he said. “It’s a lie to the country.”

#Ratcliffe said the #CIA officer he had added to the #Signal chat was his chief of staff, who is not serving under cover. While he chastised #TheAtlantic for making it look as if he had revealed #classified information by including the name, the magazine said it had withheld the name at the urging of the agency. The CIA typically asks that the names of most of its officers be kept secret to preserve their ability to serve overseas in undercover roles in the future.

John #Ratcliffe, the #CIA director, said the newly released portions of the chat show that he did not share #classified information there. “My answers haven’t changed,” he said. “I used an appropriate channel to communicate sensitive information. It was permissible to do so. I didn’t transfer any classified information.”

Himes hammered away on the idea that the timing of the attacks was #classified as “#TopSecret” under #intelligence community rules. #Gabbard said she didn’t disagree but reiterated that material was posted to the chat by Secy of #Defense #PeteHegseth, & that he is in charge of declassifying material from the #Pentagon.

"#NationalSecurity advisor has taken full responsibility for this, & the National Security Council is conducting an in-depth review, along w/technical experts working to determine how this reporter was inadvertently added to this chat," #Gabbard testified this morning.

#TulsiGabbard maintained that #classified info was not shared, but called the conversation "candid & sensitive."
#law #SignalGate #Signal #idiocracy #kakistocracy #JDVance #Hegseth #Ratcliffe #MikeWaltz #MarcoRubio #StephenMiller

#Ratcliffe said much the same: “My communications, to be clear, in the #Signal message group were entirely permissible & lawful & did not include classified information.”

#Trump, asked yesterday afternoon…, said, “It wasn’t #classified information.”

These stmnts presented us w/a dilemma. In #TheAtlantic’s initial story about the Signal chat—the “Houthi PC small group,” as it was named by #MikeWaltz—we withheld specific info related to weapons & to the timing of attacks…in certain texts.

At a Senate hearing yesterday, the director of national #intelligence, #TulsiGabbard, and the director of the #CIA, John #Ratcliffe, were both asked about the #Signal chat, to which #JeffreyGoldberg, the editor in chief of #TheAtlantic, was inadvertently invited by #NationalSecurity Adviser #MikeWaltz. “There was no #classified material that was shared in that Signal group,” Gabbard told members of the #Senate Intelligence Cmte.