Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, announced on Tuesday that over 100 intelligence workers will be fired for sending sexually explicit messages in chat rooms run by the National Security Agency.
In an interview with Jesse Watters of Fox News, Gabbard stated, “There are over 100 people from across the intelligence community that contributed to and participated in what is really just an egregious violation of trust. I put out a directive today that they will all be terminated and their security clearances will be revoked.”
She went on to say, “They were brazen in using an NSA platform intended for professional use to conduct this kind of really, really horrific behavior."
Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist and writer for City Journal, was the first to report on the chatroom messages.
Speaking earlier on Tuesday on X, DNI spokesman Alexa Henning stated that several intelligence agencies have been instructed to identify and fire staff members who took part in the sexually explicit chats by Friday and to cancel their security clearances.
Henning stated that “the DNI sent a memo directing all intelligence agencies to identify the employees who participated in the NSA’s ‘obscene, pornographic, and sexually explicit’ chatrooms and to terminate their employment and revoke their security clearances".
Members of the intelligence community's rank and file have been contacting Gabbard on the matter, a senior administration official told CNN.
Gabbard's remarks follow the NSA's announcement that investigations were being conducted and that it was aware of posts that “appear to show inappropriate discussions” by intelligence officers.
“Potential misuse of these platforms by a small group of individuals does not represent the community. Investigations to address this misuse of government systems are ongoing,” the agency stated on X.
