San Antonio U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro accuses Trump officials of ‘lying to nation’ about group chat debacle

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, on Wednesday accused Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe of lying when they said information exposed their headline-grabbing Signal group chat debacle wasn’t classified.

“The idea that this information, if it was presented to our committee, would not be classified, y’all know, is a lie,” Castro said during a House Intelligence Committee hearing. “That’s ridiculous. I’ve seen things much less sensitive be presented to us with high classification, and to say that it isn’t is a lie to the country.”

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the The Atlantic magazine, was added to a group chat on the encrypted messenger app Signal with Vice President JD Vance and other high-ranking Trump administration officials. In the chat, those officials shared explicit details about a planned bombing raid on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

On Tuesday, Gabbard and Ratcliffe downplayed concerns raised by the U.S. House Intelligence Committee that the information shared in the group chat — some of which was made public by the Atlantic — could not be considered classified information, despite the sensitivity of the details discussed.

The usually calm Castro called bullshit.

“There is no way, no way, having sat on this committee for nine years, that somebody would come in with that information and give us something that says, ‘Unclassified,'” Castro said. “You can walk out of this room with this information and give it to whomever you want.”

Castro continued: “Tulsi, you and I came in together. I’ve never had an issue or beef with you. John, you and I are both from Texas. Y’all know that’s a lie to the country.”

Indeed, the bungled group chat has raised serious questions about the competence of Trump appointees, especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host critics called woefully under-qualified for his job.

Indeed, during Wednesday’s hearing, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-California, speculated whether Hegseth was intoxicated at the time the group chat was created, The Hill reports.

“I’m not going to answer that,” CIA Director Ratcliffe responded as Gomez questioned Hegseth’s drinking habits. “I think that’s an offensive line of questioning.”

Stay tuned.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

Trump’s closure of Education Department will hit San Antonio schools hard, Rep. Joaquin Castro warns

The move will be ‘devastating’ to underfunded San Antonio schools and will cut billions in education dollars from Texas, he said.

100,000 San Antonio residents could lose Medicaid under GOP budget, Joaquin Castro warns

The resolution could also cut up to $234 billion from SNAP benefits and add trillions to the deficit to fund tax cuts for the wealthy.

LGBTQIA+ advocates make record turnout to lobby Texas lawmakers amid increasingly hostile environment

Roughly 1,300 people showed up Monday at the State Capitol to lobby against bathroom bills, book bans and other measures targeting LGBTQIA+ Texans.

Social media slams Sen. John Cornyn for posting staged pic of himself reading Trump’s book

‘This picture should go in the dictionary next to the entry for “lack of self respect,”‘ one person tweeted back to the Texas Republican.

San Antonio Rep. Joaquin Castro blasts Trump over cutting HHS jobs amid Texas measles outbreak

Castro said the cuts will lead to slower responses to public health emergencies, limit access to health programs and increase costs.

Gov. Greg Abbott embraces ‘Hot Wheels’ nickname in viral social media post

North Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett took heat for using the nickname to describe the governor, who uses a wheelchair.

This article appears in Mar 19 – Apr 1, 2025.