Attorney General Pam Bondi indicated on Thursday that a criminal investigation into the disclosure of military operation details in an unsecured text group is unlikely, stating that the specifics regarding the timing of fighter jet departures and bombings were “not classified.”
During a news conference in Virginia, Ms. Bondi addressed the public discourse surrounding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who shared information about an upcoming attack on rebels in Yemen with senior administration officials via a Signal group chat that mistakenly included a magazine editor.
“It was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released,” Ms. Bondi remarked, commending the military operation that followed. She emphasized, “What we should be talking about is, it was a very successful mission,” while also criticizing Democrats from previous administrations for mishandling classified information.
Ms. Bondi referenced past investigations into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden regarding classified information, noting that neither faced criminal charges. She did not address the prosecution of former President Donald Trump concerning his handling of classified documents, a case that was ultimately abandoned after he won a second term.
In this instance, Ms. Bondi appeared to dismiss the possibility of a similar investigation to ascertain the details of the situation. Historically, the government has classified details of military plans, weapons, or operations dating back to at least the Reagan administration.
Under federal law, individuals can be charged for mishandling national defense information that is not classified, though such prosecutions are rare. Hours before military strikes against Houthi targets, Mr. Hegseth sent a text detailing the attack plan, including the timing of the bombings.
The details of the text conversation were later disclosed by Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, who was inadvertently included in the chat among senior officials. Mr. Hegseth and other officials contended that the information shared was not classified, asserting that it is the responsibility of their department to determine what information warrants classification.
National security experts criticized this argument, asserting it contradicts fundamental principles regarding the risks of leaking military plans prior to operations and deviates from long-standing protocols of military and intelligence agencies.
During a congressional hearing on Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers clashed with Trump administration officials over the issue. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, informed the House intelligence committee that “no sources, methods, locations or war plans” were disclosed in the conversation.
Conversely, Representative Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, dismissed claims that the information was not classified, stating, “You all know that’s a lie. It’s a lie to the country.”