Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a former Army intelligence officer, delivered a scathing rebuke of President Donald Trump and his team on Friday, accusing them of endangering U.S. troops through a security breach now dubbed “Signalgate.” Speaking to CNN’s Kasie Hunt, Ryan argued that anyone else who leaked such sensitive military information would be facing criminal charges.
The controversy centers around a Signal group chat in which Trump’s inner circle allegedly shared operational details about a U.S. military mission — information that Ryan said should never have been exposed in such an unsecured forum.
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Hunt began the interview by referencing former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who had claimed Signal was secure and unhackable. “She seems to think that Signal cannot be hacked. Your response?” Hunt asked.
“It’s delusional. It’s devoid of all reality,” Ryan shot back. “I was an Army intelligence officer, 27 months in combat. That’s just factually incorrect. And I would hope she’d go get a briefing from a host of different national security agencies, including the NSA, that would tell her differently than that.”
Hunt then pressed Ryan on how he would’ve felt if his commanders had used unsecured channels to discuss missions. “Betrayed,” Ryan replied. “I think this is another betrayal, honestly, by this administration — both in what it did, but then in just flat-out — rather than taking accountability, they’re not even covering it up, but just lying directly to the American people.”
Ryan criticized the Trump team’s claims that no classified information or operational details were shared inappropriately. “All verifiably, demonstrably false things for an administration that claimed to run on competence and strength, and that has now been eviscerated this week in a way that I think is going to have lasting — and should have lasting — political and really moral effects with our allies,” he said.
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“If I had disclosed that kind of sensitive operational information, regardless of the means, I would lose my clearance, I would be punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and I would potentially go to jail,” Ryan added. “And why should the Secretary of Defense or any other senior leader not be held to the same standard?” As fallout from Signalgate continues, Ryan’s remarks underscore the growing pressure for accountability at the highest levels of government.
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