Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado tore into the Trump administration during a House Intelligence Committee Wednesday, as more details emerged regarding the dangerous leaked war plans scandal.
“I spent my life in service to this country. I deployed three times to combat in service to this nation. I learned in that time in service that responsibility is core to leadership. You accept responsibility when things go wrong. You admit mistakes. You set the standard from the very top,” he said.
During the meeting, Crow pressed National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard—who claims not to remember where she was at the time of the group chat—to admit that recently released texts reveal that confidential military plans to bomb a Yemen rebel group were indeed discussed on the unsecure platform.
“You know, as a high level, high functioning individual, you should know where in the world were you,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during a break in the hearing.
Crow also effectively detailed the stakes of the mission, noting that the Houthis rebels have shot down U.S. pilots before.
“We send our men and women downrange to do incredibly difficult, incredibly dangerous things on our behalf. This was a breach of security, and we won't do it again. It is outrageous. And it is a leadership failure. And that's why Secretary Hegseth, who undoubtedly transmitted classified sensitive operational information via this chain, must resign immediately,” Crow said.
He also pointed out that, had anyone other than Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth been responsible for the leak, they certainly would have been fired.
“If anybody below [Hegseth] in the chain of command had done the same thing, they would have been done, right?” he said. “They would have been fired. There would have been a court martial. There would be an investigation.”
He continued, “There can be no fixes. There can be no corrections until there is accountability. And I'm calling on the administration to move forward with accountability.”
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