CIA head John Ratcliffe SLAMS Dem Rep for asking if Pete Hegseth was 'drinking' before talking about Houthis on Signal

During a Wednesday House Intelligence Committee hearing on global security threats, agency heads were questioned on the Signal chat revealed by The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, in which attacks on Yemen’s Houthis were discussed. The hearing came after Goldberg released a follow-up report revealing more messages he had withheld in his first report.

In the hearing, Rep Jimmy Gomez asked CIA Director John Ratcliffe, "the main person who was involved in this thread that a lot of people want to talk to is Secretary of Defense Hegseth. And a lot of questions were brought up regarding his drinking habits in his confirmation hearing. To your knowledge, do you know whether Pete Hegseth had been drinking before he leaked classified information?"

Ratcliffe said he would "not answer that," adding, "I think that’s an offensive line of questioning. The answer is no." Gomez interjected, ""I have huge respect for the CIA, huge respect for men and women in uniform, but this was a question that's on the top of minds of every American. He stood in front of a podium in Europe holding a drink. So of course, we want to know if his performance is compromised."

Rep. Ben Cline gave Ratcliffe the opportunity to give his full response he was going to give to Gomez before being cut off, with Ratcliffe highlighting accomplishments made by his agency and others, saying that this was "the kind of work that an oversight committee should be asking about."

"But instead, we’re getting questions about whether or not someone has drinking habits. And you know, I just wish in an annual threats hearing where the American people want to hear about threats, that that’s what we would be talking about."

During questioning, Ratcliffe said, "there’s so much talk about this Atlantic article and about things that were said and that could have happened, instead of a focus on what did happen."

He said that one of his responsibilities as CIA Director is "to kill terrorists, and that’s exactly what I did. along with President Trump’s excellent national security team. That’s what we should be focused on."

He said that he spent four hours on Tuesday answering questions from Senators on the article "that were intimating that I transmitted classified information because there were hidden messages. Those messages were revealed today, and revealed that I did not transmit classified information." He said that he had not revealed the name of an undercover CIA operative in the chat, but instead "released the name of my chief of staff who is not operating undercover."

"At the end of the day, what is most important is that the mission was a remarkable success."

In her opening statements, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said, "The conversation was candid and sensitive, but as the president and National Security Advisor stated, no classified information was shared. There were no sources, methods, locations, or war plans that were shared. This was a standard update to the national security cabinet that was provided alongside updates that were given to foreign partners in the region."

She said that the Signal app comes preinstalled on government devices and that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in December 2024 that the use of end-to-end encryption in mobile communications was urged, citing the Signal app as an example.

"Ideally, these conversations occur in person. However, at times, fast-moving coordination of an unclassified nature is necessary where in-person conversation is not an option."

Ratcliffe and Gabbard were repeatedly asked about the contents of the message chain, and whether they would be designated as classified. Rep. Greg Steube asked whether there were any sources, methods, or locations discussed in the chat, to which Gabbard replied to each, "No."

"Democrats are obviously making the assertions that what was in the signal chat was classified, and claiming that Secretary Hegseth put this war plan out to the world, which he clearly did not.," said Steube, who went on to ask if locations, units, routes, and unit locations had been identified in the chat. Gabbard replied, "No."

"Wouldn't an operational plan contain that type of information?" Steube asked, to which Gabbard replied that "every operational plan I’ve ever seen has contained that information."