Over 100 US intelligence staff fired over ‘sexual chats on official platform’: The case, how it came to light

Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence, has announced that more than 100 employees of different intelligence agencies have been fired for inappropriate chats on an official communication platform. The fired employees allegedly discussed gender reassignment surgeries and gender neutral pronouns, among other things, on Intelink, a platform administered by the National Security Agency (NSA) for sharing sensitive information within the intelligence community.

In an interview with Fox News on February 25, Gabbard said the employees’ actions were “an egregious violation of trust”. She added: “I put out a directive today that they will all be terminated and their security clearances will be revoked.”

How were the chats discovered? How is this case linked to the DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) programme that Donald Trump’s administration has been targetting, as part of which some intelligence officers have already been fired? We explain.

What did the employees allegedly discuss?

The matter came to light following an article in City Journal by conservative activist Christopher Rufo and journalist Hannah Grossman on February 24. The article is based on Intelink chat logs dating back two years provided by “one current employee and one former employee” of the NSA.

Some of the chats published in the article are about gender reorientation surgery and sexual experiences after that. The discussions also involve polyamory, and an employee who wanted to use the pronoun “it”.

“[I]t/its user here. While I understand we can make some people uncomfortable, keep in mind that the dehumanizing aspect either a) doesn’t apply or b) is a positive effect when we’re requesting it,” the chat, as quoted in the article, goes.

The report adds, “A commenter who disagreed was quickly dismissed by employees of the NSA and CIA, who claimed that refusing to use “it/its” pronouns amounted to “erasing” a transgender identity.”