WASHINGTON ― Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) received right into a shouting match with CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday after asking if Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth could have been ingesting earlier than he used the third-party messaging app Sign to share battle plans with nationwide safety officers ― and by accident let a journalist into the group chat.
Earlier than being confirmed, Hegseth confronted quite a few allegations of extreme ingesting, generally at work.
“To your knowledge, do you know whether Pete Hegseth had been drinking before he leaked classified information?” Gomez requested Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, one in every of a number of nationwide safety leaders testifying earlier than the Home Everlasting Choose Committee on Intelligence.
“I don’t have any knowledge of Secretary Hegseth’s personal habits,” she replied.
Ratcliffe erupted when Gomez directed the identical query to him.
“I think that’s an offensive line of questioning,” he stated. “The answer is no, I find it interesting that you want to—”
“I yield back,” Gomez interrupted. “It’s my time, director.”
“You asked me a question. Do you want an answer?” Ratcliffe shouted. “You don’t want to focus on the good work that the CIA is doing? That the intelligence community—”
“I reclaim my time!” Gomez forcefully responded. “I have huge respect for the CIA, huge respect for our men and women in uniform. But this was a question that’s on the top of minds of every American.”
The California Democrat referenced reviews of Hegseth allegedly ingesting alcohol throughout a NATO press convention in February: “He stood in front of a podium in Europe holding a drink, so of course we want to know if his performance is compromised!”
Ratcliffe later complained that Democrats solely need to speak concerning the gorgeous safety breach on Sign ― when Hegseth and high nationwide safety officers by accident included a journalist in a categorised battle planning dialogue on the third-party messaging app ― and don’t care about “the good work” of the CIA.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), an Air Pressure veteran, chastised Ratcliffe for his feedback, saying she had a number of questions she needed to ask concerning the CIA’s work however now had to make use of her restricted time addressing the Sign breach.
“I find it offensive for you to accuse me, as a Democrat, of not caring about national threats,” she advised the CIA director.
Houlahan stated she served in categorised environments within the army, and had she been concerned a safety breach like what Hegseth simply did on Sign, she would have walked in her resignation instantly.
“This is not OK,” she advised Ratcliffe.
“The fact that we’re having to have these conversations now means that I can’t ask the questions I need to ask about things like biosecurity,” stated the Pennsylvania Democrat. “So I’d like to put you in check as well, sir, because you can’t assume who I am any more that I can assume who you are.”
