CIA Director John Ratcliffe blasted a California Democrat Wednesday for asking him “whether Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had been drinking before he leaked classified information” in a Signal chat group, calling his words an “offensive line of questioning.”
Rep. Jimmy Gomez sparked the testy exchange during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, where Ratcliffe appeared alongside Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and other top Trump administration officials.
“The main person who was involved in this thread that a lot of people want to talk to is, Secretary of Defense Hegseth. And a lot of questions were brought up regarding his drinking habits in his confirmation hearing. To your knowledge, do you know whether Pete Hegseth had been drinking before he leaked classified information?” Gomez asked Gabbard, to which she responded, “I don’t have any knowledge of Secretary Hegseth’s personal habits.”
When Gomez then asked Ratcliffe the same question, telling him it was either a “yes or no” answer, Ratcliffe fired back, saying “You know, no. I’m going to answer that. I think that’s an offensive line of questioning.”
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“The answer is no. I find it interesting…” Ratcliffe continued before Gomez began shouting “Hey, I yield back, this is my time, director! Director!”
“You asked me a question, do you want an answer?” Ratcliffe said. “You don’t want to focus on the good work that the CIA is doing, that the intelligence community…”
“Director, I reclaim my time. Director, I reclaim my time,” Gomez then said. “I have huge respect for the CIA, huge respect for men and women in uniform. But this was a question that’s on the top of the minds of every American, right?”
“He stood in front of a podium in Europe holding a drink,” Gomez then claimed.
“Was his performance compromised because of a successful strike?… you think he should accept responsibility for a successful strike to make Americans safer?” Ratcliffe started saying as Gomez again interrupted him in an attempt to get the situation under control.
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Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., followed Gomez’s questioning and allowed Ratcliffe to speak without interruption.
“I appreciate that, Congressman. I guess, you know, just a general reflection here again, that, for the last two days, members of the intelligence community have been asking questions about a Signal messaging group and not asking questions — from Democrats either in the Senate or the House — on China, Russia, Iran and the real threats, that are going on the United States,” the CIA director said.
“No one’s asked me about my second day on the job here, where I lit the fuse that led to a foreign government participating with us to capture one of the senior planners of the Abbey gate bombing that killed 13 Americans,” he added, “But instead, we’re getting questions about whether or not someone has drinking habits.”
