Trump officials Waltz, Hegseth in hot seat after adding journalist to top secret group chat – National & International News
Trump officials in hot seat after adding journalist to top secret group chat
Washington is in an uproar over a misstep by Trump officials which is at least a very serious blunder, and potentially a gray violation of national security. Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Vice President JD Vance and other high-ranking Trump officials took part in a group chat on Signal, an end-to-end encrypted chat app. During this chat, highly confidential war plans were discussed for an upcoming bombing campaign on the Houthis in Yemen.
The fact that this conversation took place over Signal at all is a problem. Use of the app to communicate this information is also a potential violation of records laws. Signal is not approved for sensitive government communications because it is not considered to be secure. One of the participants, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff happened to be in Russia while this top-secret chat was taking place. Witkoff has taken the lead on Ukraine ceasefire negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There are worries that Russia’s spy agencies may have been able to access the chat by remotely accessing his phone.
There is also debate around whether Hegseth shared what should have been classified information (on strategy, armaments, military maneuvers) over an unsecured line. Critics say that this information should not have been shared outside of a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF). Defenders of Hegseth claim that he has the authority to declassify such information, but other officials say he does not. If he bypassed declassification protocols, this could be a very serious matter indeed.
“They got lucky”
Arguably the most serious blunder was made by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who accidentally added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine to the chat. The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg says that he witnessed Hegseth sharing sensitive war plans, but out of a sense of propriety, Goldberg did not publish these specific plans in his article exposing the group chat. This has led to a war of words between Hegseth and Goldberg with each calling the other a liar.
Goldberg has given several interviews since the article was published on Monday. In one, he said, “They got quite lucky that they included my phone number if they’re going to pick an errant phone number”. While considered to be a liberal, Goldberg is also a warhawk who is ideologically aligned with at least some members of Trump’s administration (including Waltz). Goldberg also said he believed that sharing this information over this unsecured group chat could have endangered American lives.
This whole episode also begs the question of why Waltz had Goldberg’s number in his phone in the first place? Some have wondered if Waltz could be leaking to fellow neo-con Goldberg to further his more warlike agenda, which has clashed with the America First elements in the Trump administration. Prior to Goldberg’s article coming out on Monday, the Department of Defense announced it would be using polygraphs to track down leaks of classified information to the press.
What else did the chat reveal?
Regarding the planned military action against the Houthis, Vice President Vance seemed reluctant to pursue this course of action and even questioned Trump’s thinking on it. “I think we are making a mistake,” Vance wrote. He also said, “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now”. Vance characterized the attack on the Houthis as “bailing out Europe again”.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have instituted a naval blockade in the Red Sea, preventing ships from entering the Suez Canal from the south. The Houthis have only targeted ships connected to Israel and their military backers. The blockade is an effort to force Israel to end its military assault on Gaza and allow much needed aid into the Strip.
After launching the deadly attacks on Yemen, the participants in the signal chat exchanged celebratory emojis. However, these attacks have not proved effective. The Houthis have not lifted the blockade and have not ended their missile attacks on Israel. Nowhere in the chat did anyone consider whether this was the correct course of action to achieve their stated aim of freeing up navigation in the Red Sea. If anything, the US attacks on Yemen have strengthened the Houthi’s resolve and bolstered the rebel group’s legitimacy among the Yemeni population, which steadfastly supports Palestine.
The Signal chat participants seemed more concerned about how they would sell the necessity of the attacks to the American public. Hegseth said, “I think messaging is going to be tough no matter what – nobody knows who the Houthis are – which is why we need to stay focused on: 1) Biden failed & 2) Iran funded”.
In January 2024, then-President Biden was asked by a reporter if his administration’s ongoing campaign of airstrikes against the Houthis were effective. Biden answered, “Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they gonna continue? Yes.”
Click here for Goldberg’s story in The Atlantic (opens in new tab).
