Top US intelligence officials claim Signal chat did not mention classified details

US President Donald Trump’s top intelligence officials have claimed, under oath, that no classified information was shared in a Signal group chat that accidentally included a journalist and concerned strikes against Yemen.

Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee a day after the stunning revelation in The Atlantic, senior officials attempted to downplay the significance of what has been roundly condemned as a historic security failure. 

The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, on Monday reported that he was added to a text thread, which discussed imminent strikes on Houthi militias in Yemen, after Michael Waltz sent him a connection request. 

While Goldberg initially did not believe the Signal chat to be genuine, he was subsequently shocked to watch as Houthi targets were indeed struck at the time that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had announced they would be to the group. 

Goldberg wrote that the discussion in the Signal chat "included precise information about weapons packages, targets and timing," though he did not release information that could jeopardise US national security.

Goldberg reported, without revealing their identity, that Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe shared the name of an active CIA agent via Signal. 

The National Security Council later confirmed the chat's veracity. 

Despite the jaw-dropping development, which has made front pages globally, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard claimed that no classified information had been shared in the group chat. 

Asked during the hearing whether the timing and location of upcoming military strikes had been shared in the group she said: "I can attest to the fact that there were not classified or intelligence equities