Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that more than 100 employees from across the intelligence community had been fired for using a secure government chat normally used to share sensitive information to participate in sexually explicit conversations.

Officials confirmed that the N.S.A. managed a system that had been used for sexually explicit chats and L.G.B.T.Q. discussions. An order to fire dozens after the chats were revealed drew scrutiny amid a military purge of transgender soldiers.

Intelink is a secure system meant for collaboration and information-sharing among far-flung intelligence analysts.

The group chat featured extremely graphic conversations about transgender procedures, polyamory, and sexual fetishes.

The chats had been set up to discuss sensitive security matters. But a group of employees used them for discussions that contained sexual themes, intelligence officials said this week.