PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is calling for an investigation and resignations after reporting found national security officials used the Signal messaging app to share potentially classified war plans in a group chat that mistakenly included a journalist.

The incident was reported by Atlantic Editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg on Monday, who was added to a Signal group chat with top national security officials sharing plans about an airstrike against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

According to Goldberg, the group chat included national security leaders such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, with messages describing "precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing."

Amid concerns that the potentially classified information was shared on devices that might not have been cleared for sharing the information, and mistakenly adding a journalist into the discussion, Sen. Wyden called for Hegseth and Waltz to step down during the annual Worldwide Threats hearing held by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.

During the hearing, committee members had the opportunity to question national security leaders -- including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel.

“Obviously, my colleagues and I feel very strongly about the war planning meeting over unclassified phones. Obviously reckless, obviously dangerous both the mishandling of classified information and the deliberate destruction of federal records – potential crimes that ought to be investigated immediately,” Wyden said during the hearing.

“I want to make clear that I am of the view that there ought to be resignations starting with the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of Defense," Wyden said.

While being questioned by Wyden, Gabbard and Ratcliffe claimed they were not part of any group chats on Signal or similar messaging apps, that shared classified information -- prompting Wyden to call for an audit to verify their claims.

During the hearing, Wyden was joined by Committee Vice Chairman Mike Warner (D-VA), who shared security concerns over the group chat, stating, "classified information should never be discussed over an unclassified system. It’s also just mind boggling to me that all of these senior folks that were on this line and nobody even bothered to check. Security hygiene 101: who are all the names? Who are they? Well, it apparently included journalists.”

Warner added that if this were a case involving a rank-and-file military officer, they would have been fired.

While Gabbard declined to discuss the group chat during the hearing -- citing an investigation by the National Security Council -- Ratcliffe said Signal use is permitted as long as discussions are formally recorded.

“One of the first things that happened when I was confirmed as CIA director, was Signal was downloaded on my computer at the CIA, as it is for most CIA officers. One of the things I was briefed on very early, senator, was by the CIA director’s management folks about the use of Signal as a permissible work use -- it is. That is a practice that preceded the current administration to the Biden administration,” Ratcliffe claimed while questioned by Vice Chairman Warner.

The committee hearing comes after Secretary Hegseth defended the administration on Monday saying, “nobody was texting war plans."

The defense secretary also sought to discredit Goldberg's reporting, claiming, “You’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again."

While Sen. Wyden is calling for an investigation into the incident, it is not clear if the Senate Intelligence Committee will investigate. KOIN 6 News has reached out to Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-AR). This story will be updated if we receive a response.

A spokesperson for Sen. Wyden told KOIN 6 News "Senator Wyden will be asking one or more independent federal watchdogs to launch an independent investigation of this appalling security breach."