By DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s top intelligence officials will brief House lawmakers Wednesday on global threats facing the U.S. — though they’ll likely be questioned again over their use of a group text to discuss plans for military strikes in Yemen.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel are among those who were asked to testify before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its annual review of threats facing the U.S.
At a similar hearing on Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Gabbard briefed lawmakers on her office’s threat assessment, noting that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea continue to pose security challenges to the U.S., as do drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
The presentations from top Trump appointees reflect Trump’s foreign policy priorities, including a focus on combating the flow of fentanyl, illegal immigration and human trafficking, and are taking place as Trump attempts to work out a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine three years after Russia’s invasion.
Tuesday’s hearing was dominated by questions about Ratcliffe and Gabbard’s participation in a group chat on Signal in which they discussed plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen. The group included a journalist, The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
Gabbard and Ratcliffe have said no classified information was included in the messages, but Democrats have decried the use of the messaging app, saying that any release of information about timetables, weapons or military activities could have put U.S. servicemembers at risk. At Tuesday’s hearing they asked Patel, who was not a participant in the text chain, if he would investigate. It’s likely House Democrats will press Patel on the same question Wednesday.
The National Security Council has said it will investigate the matter, which Trump on Tuesday downplayed as a “glitch.” Goldberg said he received the Signal invitation from Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, who was also in the group chat.
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