CIA Director John Ratcliffe Shreds Atlantic Editor Behind Signal Story: ‘Deliberately False’

CIA Director John Ratcliffe accused the journalist from The Atlantic who wrote a piece about top Trump officials communicating over a Signal chat group that inadvertently included him of lying in his report.

Ratcliffe made the remarks during testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh, and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse.

“My responsibility as CIA Director, one of its responsibilities is to kill terrorists, and that’s exactly what I did along with President Trump’s excellent national security team,” he said. “That’s what we should be focused on.”

Ratcliffe said that one of the major issues with the article was how it falsely suggested things that never happened.

“I spent four hours answering questions from Senators as a result of that article that were intimating that I transmitted classified information because they were hidden messages,” Ratcliffe said. “Those messages were revealed today and revealed that I did not transmit classified information and that the reporter, who I don’t know, I think intentionally intended it to indicate that.”

“That reporter also indicated that I had released the name of an undercover CIA operative in that Signal chat,” he continued. “In fact, I had released the name of my chief of staff, who is not operating undercover. That was deliberately false and misleading.”

Ratcliffe noted that his answers have not changed about what happened, he used an appropriate channel to communicate, and he did not transfer any classified information.

“At the end of the day, what is most important is that the mission was a remarkable success is what everyone should be focused on here because that’s what did happen, not what possibly could have happened,” he said.

WATCH:

.@CIADirector: "My answers haven't changed. I used an appropriate channel to communicate sensitive information. It was permissible to do so … and at the end of the day, what is most important is that the mission was a remarkable success." pic.twitter.com/Mas5YKrz5a

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 26, 2025