Classified hearing with administration requested

Wicker, whose support was crucial to Hegseth's Senate confirmation, is one of the most ardent defense hawks in Congress and has said the committee will request a classified hearing with a top administration official, as well as for the administration to verify the contents of the Signal chat. The contents, which were published by The Atlantic, show that Hegseth listed weapons systems and a timeline for the attack on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen earlier this month.

Senate Republicans have criticized the discussion on Signal but have stopped short of calling for the removal of Hegseth or anyone else involved. Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican member of both the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees, said that any oversight should be done "in a bipartisan way."

Still, Democrats are pressing to probe much deeper. Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he wants to check the phones of those involved in the Signal chat for malware as well as whether Hegseth had shared military plans on other Signal chats.

Warner said he expected support from Republicans in calling for such an investigation, but so far Warner's Republican counterpart on the intelligence committee, Sen. Tom Cotton, has given no sign he would join in those calls.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department, which has traditionally handled investigations into the mishandling of classified or sensitive information by both Republican and Democratic administrations, showed that under Trump it would likely stay on the sidelines. When asked at an unrelated news conference what the Justice Department plans to do, Attorney General Pam Bondi deflected, saying the mission was ultimately a success.

Echoing the White House, Bondi also insisted that none of the information shared on Signal was classified, even though officials have provided no evidence that that's the case. Espionage Act statutes require the safe handling of closely held national defense information even if it's not marked classified.

Bondi, who has pledged not to play politics with the department, quickly pivoted to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Joe Biden, who were investigated for allegations that they mishandled classified information but were not charged. Both Democrats were subject to extensive criminal investigations, and the FBI and the Justice Department have long track records of such inquiries.

The White House National Security Council has also said it would investigate the Signal chat. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that she had no update on the status of that investigation. "We've been incredibly transparent about this entire situation, and we will continue to be," Leavitt said.

Adblock test (Why?)