A federal worker accidentally includes a journalist on a detailed message in advance of a government operation.
While that sounds like the case of The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief being added to a group Signal chat by Trump’s national security adviser Michael Waltz, in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed military attack plans in Yemen, it’s not.
It’s what happened to a longtime Department of Homeland Security employee who told colleagues she inadvertently sent unclassified details of an upcoming Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation to a journalist in late January, according to former ICE chief of staff Jason Houser, one former DHS official and one current DHS official. (The two officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they do not want to endanger their current or future career opportunities.)
But unlike Waltz and Hegseth, who both remain in their jobs, the career DHS employee was put on administrative leave and told late last week that the agency intends to revoke her security clearance, the officials said.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, has largely rallied around Waltz and Hegseth, with Trump on Wednesday calling it “all a witch hunt.”
The episode involving the career DHS employee has not been previously reported. Experts say it raises questions about unequal punishment for inadvertent leakers in the Trump administration.
Mary McCord, a former top official in the Justice Department’s national security division, which investigates the mishandling or leaking of classified information, said the two cases should be treated the same way.
"Both of these are examples of carelessness in the handling of highly sensitive information, the disclosure of which could put U.S. government employees or military members in danger," added McCord, who is now a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center. "We should expect the Signal chat breach to be taken at least as seriously" as the DHS employee's breach.
The DHS employee who was put on leave did not speak to NBC News. The officials who did speak didn't want to identify her out of fear she would face retaliation from members of the public who are pro-immigration enforcement.
The DHS employee told colleagues she accidentally added a reporter from a conservative Washington-based print publication to an email that included information about upcoming ICE operations in the Denver area. The officials said the information was not classified but considered law enforcement sensitive because it included the time of day for the operation and possible home locations where targets could be identified.
Realizing her mistake immediately, the employee called the reporter who agreed not to disclose the information, the officials said.
The ICE operation took place without incident, the officials said.
But another person on the email group flagged the blunder to higher-ups at DHS at a time when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan were blaming leaks to the media for lower-than-expected arrest numbers during ICE roundups, the officials said.
Days later, the employee was placed on leave pending an investigation, the officials said. She was asked to take a polygraph test and surrender her personal cellphone, which she declined. She was then notified that the agency intends to revoke her security clearance, the officials said, which could keep her from working in the homeland security space again.
The employee has 30 days to appeal the revocation, one official said.
The employee has served in various agencies across DHS since President George W. Bush’s administration, including during the entirety of Trump’s first term, the officials said.
A DHS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The White House also did not respond to a request for comment.
In the Signal incident, Hegseth shared details of upcoming strikes on Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, according to text messages shared by The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was included in the chat.
Even though Hegseth provided the precise timing of planned fighter jet and drone launches and when bombs would hit their intended targets, the Trump administration has said no classified material was shared in the chat.
Houser, the former ICE chief of staff, said the employee had a reputation for being "mission-focused" and "apolitical."
"Targeting a career official who dedicated her service to protecting public safety and enforcing the law — while excusing political appointees who leaked sensitive war plans — shows this administration punishes integrity and protects recklessness. That doesn’t just betray her, it weakens every public servant who risks their career to do the right thing," Houser said.
"It's staggering hypocrisy," he added. Houser noted that the career official was put on leave for sharing information that was not classified, "while political appointees leak classified war plans and face zero consequences. This isn’t just a double standard — it’s reckless and dangerous."
One former DHS official told NBC News that the Trump administration should review its handling of the case of the DHS career employee who accidentally emailed ICE plans in light of the news of the Signal chat involving Waltz, Hegseth and Goldberg.
"Career civilians and military suffer severe penalties for inadvertent mistakes significantly less serious," the former DHS official said. "The inconsistency is appalling."
