Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard promised to treat "any unauthorized release of classified information" as a crime—a directive that is backfiring following revelations about a group text message discussing classified military operations.
The group text, in which Gabbard was included, detailed plans to bomb Yemen on March 15. The public learned of the Signal app conversation—believed to be in violation of national security policy—because Trump's national security adviser, Michael Waltz, accidentally added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg.
Since Goldberg published his account of the incident on Monday, many are contrasting Gabbard's involvement in the breach with her March 14 promise.
So...lock them up? pic.twitter.com/GfyLY4MOkb
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) March 24, 2025
Gabbard's vow to treat the release of classified information as a crime came as the she announced an investigation into Top Secret Intelligence Community chat rooms, where employees were believed to be leaking classified information, and sharing sexually explicit content.
Ten days later, with Gabbard herself implicated in a leak of classified information, social media is eager to learn how she'll respond.
"She was... uh... on the group chat," an X user noted. "She gonna lock herself up?" another said.
My weed dealer in High School used better security measures.
— Denison Barb (@DenisonBarbs) March 24, 2025
Parallels were drawn previous scandals surrounding Hillary Clinton's use of e-mail to discuss classified information, and to President Donald Trump's mishandling of classified documents.
"The caveat is, it doesn't include the Trump administration! Just everyone else," one user said, pointing to the perceived hypocrisy.
Others deferred blame to Waltz for adding the reporter to the confidential chat, or to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who outlined classified details over text in a "team update."
Gabbard has not yet responded to the incident. When questioned, President Trump told reporters he was just hearing about it for the first time, offering no comment beyond, "I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic."
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