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Democrats call for action over signal breach and warn against'mourning' dead pilots

U.S. Democrats tried to hold Trump Administration officials accountable for discussing sensitive attacks plans on a commercial message app on Wednesday, arguing lives could have lost if this information fell into the wrong hand.

Jim Himes, a Democrat from Connecticut, said: "It's only by the grace of God we don't have dead pilots in our midst right now." He was speaking at a House Intelligence Committee hearing.

Himes stated that "everyone knows that the Russians or the Chinese could've gotten that information."

Two top officials of President Donald Trump's Administration who took part in the chat testified at the hearing about global threats. They were Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabriel and CIA director John Ratcliffe.

The second day of testimony was after a heated Senate session where Democrats and some Trump's Republican colleagues demanded accountability. Officials insisted that the chat on Signal, a commercial encrypted messaging app, did not contain classified information.

The Atlantic's editor-in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was accidentally included in the chat room, released screenshots that showed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth texting the start time of the planned killing on March 15, of a Houthi terrorist in Yemen, along with details about further U.S. Airstrikes, which would normally be closely-guarded secrets.

Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democratic Representative from Illinois who called for Hegseth to resign, said: "This information is classified." It's classified information, including a weapon system and the sequence of strikes. Also included are details about operations.

"SECRETARY of DEFENSE"'s Authority

When Gabbard was asked about the classification question, she said that it was the Department of Defense's responsibility. She said: "I would like to point out that what was shared falls under the DoD's classification system and Secretary of Defense authority."

Separately, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote to Trump and top officials of the White House urging an investigation by the Justice Department into how a reporter was accidentally included in a group discussion about sensitive attack plans.

Officials from the Trump administration have stated that no classified material has been shared in a group chat on Signal.

In a letter sent on Wednesday, the Democratic Senators expressed their alarm at the "astonishingly poor judgment" displayed by your Cabinet members and national security advisers.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment.

Trump stated that his administration will look into Signal, but expressed support for the National Security Team.

Mike Waltz, Trump's national-security adviser, who organised the Signal chat on Fox News, stated in an interview on Tuesday that he "took full responsibility" but no classified information had been shared. Additional reporting by Kanishka and Richard Cowan, in Washington by Sarah N. Lynch. Writing by Patricia Zengerle. Editing by Mary Milliken & Howard Golliken.

(source: Reuters)