Over 100 American intelligence officers have been fired for participating in sexually explicit chats on a government-operated chat system, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Tuesday. The officers from 15 intelligence agencies will also forfeit their security clearances, Gabbard confirmed during an interview with Fox News.
Memo sent. We know who they are. Action is underway. https://t.co/dC3fV1D9ZO
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) February 25, 2025
The chatroom, operated by the National Security Agency (NSA), was intended for secure discussions but had been allegedly misused for unwarranted topics, such as gender transition surgery, intelligence officers said. Exposure of the chats was initially unveiled by conservative activist Christopher Rufo in ‘City Journal.’ Promptly after such revelations, Gabbard seized the opportunity to call the alleged misconduct an “egregious violation of trust” and unambiguous breach of professional standards.
Intelligence Community Undergoes a Massive Purge
“This is just the beginning of what we are seeing across the Trump administration,” Gabbard said, according to The New York Times. She called for “clean house, root out that rot and corruption, and weaponisation and politicisation,” in a bid to rebuild public confidence in the intelligence community.
In reaction to the scandal, Alexa Henning, Office of the Director of National Intelligence spokesperson, verified on X (formerly Twitter) that a memo had been distributed to all intelligence agencies. The directive mandates agencies to list employees who participated in the sexually explicit chats by Friday.
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.
Deadline: Friday.
— Alexa Henning (@DNIspox) February 25, 2025
The NSA admitted the scandal and assured that investigations are underway to tackle the “misuse of government systems.” The agency explained that the actions of a few do not represent the whole intelligence community.
NSA is aware of posts that appear to show inappropriate discussions by IC personnel. IC collaboration platforms are intended to drive mission outcomes. Potential misuse of these platforms by a small group of individuals does not represent the community. Investigations to address…
— NSA/CSS (@NSAGov) February 25, 2025
Additional Crackdowns on Biden-Era Diversity Programs
In addition to these firings, Gabbard’s office and the CIA have sought to fire employees who worked on diversity programs during the Biden administration. A federal judge has temporarily blocked this action, with a final decision pending on Thursday. In contrast to the explicit chat case, no particular allegations of wrongdoing have been made against employees working in diversity programs. Some of the targeted employees have already sued for reassignment to other jobs.
Gabbard pointed out that intelligence officers have started stepping forward with more reports of misconduct, affirming her resolve to “refocus on the core mission of serving the American people.”
As the Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard directs 18 intelligence agencies that share a $100 billion budget. She also counsels President Trump on matters of national security and is a former Representative from Hawaii (2013-2021) who has been deployed to Iraq and Kuwait with the Hawaii Army National Guard.
