Attorney General Pam Bondi declined to say whether the Justice Department was investigating national security leaders’ use of Signal to discuss an airstrike, implying such an action may not be necessary given that the information discussed was unclassified. Democrats and national security exper ts have disputed the claims from the Trump administration that discussions of an imminent strike on Houthi targets in Yemen would have been classified. Bondi nonetheless pointed to that distinction in responding to a question from a reporter about whether DOJ was involved. “First, it was sensitive information, not classified and inadvertently released. And what we should be talking about is it was a very successful mission,” she said Thursday. Bondi’s comments come as the administration has otherwise said it plans to crack down on those who leak classified information. Such prosecutions typically occur under the Espionage Act. That law does not require information to be classified — it allows for the prosecution of anyone who releases national defense information. The law also allows for charges against those who intentionally and inadvertently release national security information. Last week, the DOJ opened a criminal investigation into the leak of information to the New York Times about an intelligence assessment dealing with Venezuela. ...read more read less