FBI Director Kash Patel declined on Tuesday to say whether the bureau would investigate if national security information was improperly leaked by Cabinet members in a Signal chat that included a journalist.
During a back-and-forth with Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, intelligence officials downplayed Monday’s revelation that top members of former President Donald Trump’s Cabinet had shared detailed operational plans—likely highly classified—about U.S. military strikes in Yemen on the encrypted messaging app Signal. A reporter was reportedly accidentally included in the conversation. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe denied that classified information was shared. However, Warner pressed Patel to clarify whether the FBI would launch a criminal investigation into the matter.
“Director Patel, has the FBI launched any investigation of this?” Warner asked.
Patel responded, “I was just briefed about it late last night, this morning. I don’t have an update.” Warner then requested an update “by the end of the day.”
### The Setting: Under normal circumstances, the FBI and Justice Department would investigate whether classified information was improperly disclosed, as unauthorized sharing is a criminal offense. However, the officials involved in the Signal chat hold original classification authority, meaning they have the power to downgrade the classification of information at any time, potentially allowing them to argue that no legal violation occurred.
