Democrats seek criminal probe over group chat on Houthi strike

Ryan Tarinelli, CQ-Roll Call on Mar 26, 2025

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WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers called for criminal investigations Wednesday into the conduct surrounding a sensitive group chat in which high-ranking Trump officials discussed military action against the Houthis.

Senate and House Democrats underscored the Espionage Act in letters to the Trump administration as they called for either Attorney General Pamela Bondi or a special counsel to review the activity of the Signal group chat, which has set off a firestorm on Capitol Hill.

The existence of the group chat was revealed by The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, who reported he was accidentally added to the chat. On Wednesday, The Atlantic published the chat that included information about the attacks ahead of “the scheduled start of the bombing of Houthi positions.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, argued in a letter Wednesday that conduct in the group chat was “likely” a violation of the Espionage Act.

“This situation is perhaps one of the most humiliating and dangerous national security breaches in modern American history,” Raskin said in the letter to Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, adding that the episode put the lives of American servicemembers at risk.

Raskin argued the group chat episode “likely violates federal criminal and civil statutes” that the Justice Department and the FBI “have a duty to enforce.”

In their letter to Trump, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and other Democrats said they expect Bondi to conduct an investigation into the actions of the “government officials involved in improperly sharing or discussing such information.”

The Democrats wrote that “willful or negligent disclosure of classified or sensitive national security information may constitute a criminal violation of the Espionage Act or other laws.”

The Justice Department is unlikely to launch a criminal investigation or bring charges against prominent Trump administration officials, as both Bondi and Patel are staunch allies of Trump.

Patel, during a hearing of the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, was tight-lipped when asked by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., about the possibility of an FBI investigation.

“Do you believe that it’s now time, potentially, for the FBI to open an investigation into this?” Houlahan asked Patel.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” he responded.

“Because you’re the director of the FBI, you don’t believe it’s appropriate to comment on that?” Houlahan responded.

Patel said “there’s a process in place” and that the National Security Council is reviewing the matter. “I’m not going to discuss any open or closed investigation,” Patel said.

In another letter dated Wednesday, a group of five House Democrats called for Bondi to appoint a special counsel on the matter.

That group, too, brought up the Espionage Act, mentioning that it prohibits the unauthorized divulgence of national defense information.

An investigation was needed to determine “whether there is evidence that reckless negligence occurred,” the lawmakers wrote.

Rep. Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who led his colleagues in sending the letter, said the FBI should investigate the circumstances of the group chat, adding that criminal laws prohibiting the improper dissemination of classified information are in place to protect national security.

“To expose such highly classified secrets and war plans on a messaging app that’s very likely being surveilled by our adversaries jeopardizes the safety and security of everyone in that mission,” Goldman, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said. “We’re lucky that the Houthis did not get our plans via that Signal chat.”

“And if they had, they would have been prepared for a counterattack that could have resulted in death to Americans,” he said.

Meanwhile, an outside oversight group filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration officials in federal court Tuesday, asking a judge to declare that the defendants violated their duties under the Federal Records Act, a law that governs the management and disposal of records.

The letter from Senate Democrats also said some of the messages in the group chat were apparently set to disappear after a specific period of time, describing it as “a potential violation” of both the Federal Records Act and the Presidential Records Act.

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