llhan Omar moves to impeach Trump officials over Yemen strike plots
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Following the leak of top Trump officials' chat regarding strikes against Yemen, Democratic Congressowman Ilhan Omar has begun drafting impeachment articles against them.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference, May 24, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington (AP)
Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is drafting impeachment articles against three former Trump administration officials who discussed plans to bomb Yemen in a Signal group chat—a conversation that was accidentally exposed when a journalist was mistakenly added to the group earlier this month.
According to Axios, Omar is preparing impeachment charges against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, all of whom participated in the chat.
"Pete Hegseth is an embarrassment to Minnesota. His incompetence and blatant illegal actions prove that he is completely unfit to lead the Department of Defense," Omar wrote on Bluesky on Wednesday.
The specific impeachment charges remain unclear, according to Truthout, as impeachment does not necessarily require a violation of criminal law. US officials can be impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors," a broad term that includes abuse of power or gross negligence in office.
Several Democratic lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have called on Donald Trump to dismiss the officials involved or demand their resignations.
A poll found that three-quarters of Americans were concerned by the administration’s use of Signal to discuss military operations.
Read more: Signal Yemen chat intel leak exposes Trump's team contempt for Europe
'SignalGate'
The scandal—dubbed "SignalGate"—has sparked widespread backlash, with White House officials scrambling to explain why sensitive military discussions were conducted on a private messaging app.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were asked about the Signal chat, which National Security Advisor Michael Waltz had inadvertently included him in. Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee, "There was no classified material shared in that Signal group."
Ratcliffe echoed these claims, noting, “My communications, to be clear, in the Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information.” Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said, “It wasn’t classified information," upon being asked about the content of the group chat.
The revelation came from Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, disclosed in an article on Monday that he was unintentionally included by Waltz in a private Signal chat about upcoming strikes on the YAF in Yemen on March 15.
Much of the conversation in the "Houthi PC small group" focused on the timing and rationale behind attacks on the Houthis, including remarks by Trump administration officials about the perceived shortcomings of America's European allies.
In light of the leak, Israeli officials expressed concerns to their US counterparts, given that the Israeli occupation had shared intelligence to allegedly target a prominent Yemeni missile expert, according to US officials, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
