Feb 26, 2025 - Business

Gabbard to fire more than 100 intelligence officers over "explicit" chats

Rebecca Falconer

Tulsi Gabbard, then-President Donald Trump's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. — Tulsi Gabbard, then-President Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, said Tuesday more than 100 intelligence officers will be fired for taking part in sexually explicit discussions in agency chat rooms.

The big picture: Gabbard said on Fox News she "put out a directive" on Tuesday that those who took part in these chats on the National Security Agency's (NSA) "Intelink" messaging platform will also have their security clearances revoked.

Driving the news: Gabbard earlier Tuesday confirmed a report by conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who writes for City Journal, that the DNI was sending a memo directing all intelligence agencies to identify the employees who participated in the chats that included discussion on transgender identity.

DNI spokesperson Alexa Henning said on X Tuesday that the memo was sent to "all intelligence agencies" over the "obscene, pornographic, and sexually explicit" chats.
Gabbard said on "Jesse Watters Primetime" there "are over 100 people from across the intelligence community that contributed to and participated in what is really just an egregious violation of trust."
She added to Fox News' Jesse Watters: "They were brazen in using an NSA platform intended for professional use to conduct this kind of really, really horrific behavior."

Zoom in: The National Security Agency/Central Security Service said in a post to X Tuesday it was aware of posts that "appear to show inappropriate discussions" by intelligence personnel and investigations to "address this misuse of government systems" were ongoing.

"Potential misuse of these platforms by a small group of individuals does not represent the community," the post said.

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Gabbard to fire more than 100 intelligence officers over "explicit" chats

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