Amid the controversial 'Signal chat leak', the US security chiefs are testifying before a House panel on Wednesday (March 26). 

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Democratic representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on intelligence slammed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's handling of the alleged inadvertent leak of a chat about Houthi war plans. 

Himes grilled Hegseth, saying, "There’s only one response to a mistake of this magnitude: you apologize, you own it, and you stop everything until you can figure out what went wrong, and how it might not ever happen again. That’s not what happened."

Also read: Democrats want Hegseth, Waltz to resign over war plan leak; Gabbard claims 'no classified material' in Signal chat

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Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called it a "mistake" that a reporter was inadvertently included in a Signal chat with top national security officials discussing imminent strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. She added that the National Security Advisor has taken full responsibility. 

“National Security Advisor has taken full responsibility for this, and the National Security Council is conducting an in-depth review, along with tech, technical experts working to determine how this reporter was inadvertently added to this chat,” she added.

Himes further said, “The Secretary of Defense responded with a brutal attack on the reporter who did not ask to be on the Signal chain yesterday. Our former colleague Mike Waltz did the same in the White House and then went on Fox to call Jeff Goldberg a loser. What do you think the people who work for you are seeing and learning from that?”

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Also read: Trump Houthi attack plan 'revealed; Magazine shares what it claims to be full Yemen strike chat leak

Calling the conversation "candid and sensitive", Gabbard said that as the president and National Security Advisor stated, no classified information was shared. 

"This was a standard update to the national security cabinet that was provided alongside updates that were given to foreign partners in the region,” Gabbard said.

Further talking about the app used for the chat "Signal", Gabbard said that the app Signal "comes pre-installed on government devices.”

Also read: 'A f***ing idiot': Trump to fire NSA Mike Waltz for adding journalist in top secret war chat, says report

“Ideally, these conversations occur in person. However, at times, fast-moving coordination of an unclassified nature is necessary, or in person, conversation is not an option."

Further, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, General National Security Agency Director Timothy Haugh and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. General Jeffrey Kruse are all expected to testify at the hearing.

This comes after The Atlantic magazine on Wednesday published what it said was the full text of a chat group mistakenly shared with a journalist by top Trump administration officials laying out plans of an imminent attack on Yemen.

The stunning details, including the times of strikes and types of planes being used, were all laid out in screenshots of the chat. The magazine said it was published after the Trump administration repeatedly denied that any classified information had been included in the unsecured chat.

Also read: Vance says magazine 'oversold' US attack plan story, despite transcript

(With inputs from agencies)