Trump administration handles the consequences of signal group chat leaks: How to know

The Trump administration is dealing with the consequences of an extraordinary leak of internal national security deliberations, which was disclosed in an encrypted group chat that mistakenly included journalists from the Atlantic.

In a panel message between cabinet officials and senior White House staff, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed plans for the war two hours before the U.S. military launched an attack on the Hotty militia in Yemen. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz accidentally added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat with a business messaging app Signal.

This is the latest.

What does the White House say?

President Trump told NBC News on Tuesday that the leak was “the only malfunction in two months and it turned out to be not a serious glitch.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on social media saying “the “war plan” and “there was no discussion of confidential material to the thread”. But Mr. Goldberg wrote that he did not post some information in the subject because he said they contain sensitive information.

Mr Goldberg’s report also raised concerns about the use of signal, non-security messaging platforms, and sets messages to automatically delete. Ms. Levitt objected to these concerns.

“The White House Lawyer’s Office provides many different platforms for President Trump’s top officials to communicate as safely and effectively as possible,” she wrote.

National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement Monday that the message thread “seems to be real.” Mr Hughes said officials are reviewing how the chain adds unintentional numbers. ”

The government tries to discredit Jeffrey Goldberg.

When Mr. Trump first asked about the report on Monday, he said he was unaware of the leak, but he immediately attacked the magazine.

“I’m not a big fan of the Atlantic,” he said. “For me, this is a magazine that went bankrupt.”

For years, Mr. Trump has complained about Mr. Goldberg and his publications, as a 2020 article published by a reporter said that Mr. Trump refused to visit the fallen American Soldier Cemetery in France because it was “full of losers.”

Mr. Heggs also criticized Mr. Goldberg on Monday, calling him a “deceptive and highly discredited so-called journalist”, his first stop in Hawaii, his first on his week-long trip to Asia.

“No one is planning to send text messages, that’s what I’m going to say,” Mr. Heggs said.

Mr. Goldberg responded to Mr. Heggs’ comments, saying “This is a lie” on CNN.

Will Mr. Waltz face consequences?

Mr. Trump said Tuesday that Mr. Waltz wrote in Goldberg that there would be no consequences after the National Security Advisor added him to the signal chat.

“Michael Waltz learned his lesson and he was a good guy,” Trump told NBC News. The president said a staff member of Mr. Goldberg joined.

But even before Monday’s leak, Mr. Walz faced suspicion from inside and outside the government. Some of Mr. Trump’s most conservative allies believe that he is inadequate to the president, while some Republicans who have served in Congress think he is too loyal.

How do both sides respond?

Democrats are angry at the report and they demand an investigation into the disclosure of sensitive materials. Some have also called for attention to the Trump administration’s efforts to downplay the incident, re-laying Mr. Walz and other Trump allies, criticizing Hillary Clinton for using private email servers as secretary of state.

Ms. Clinton posted a link to an Atlantic article on social media on Monday, emojis with two eyes, and wrote: “You must be kidding me.”

Several Republicans on Capitol Hill expressed concerns about Mr. Goldberg’s inclusion in the chat and admitted it was a mistake. However, most people say they want a complete briefing before any conclusions are drawn.

Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican of the Pennsylvania Intelligence Commission, said on CNN that his team will send inquiries to the Office of the Director of the National Intelligence Agency and then determine if a comprehensive investigation is required. But Mike Johnson, the speaker of Louisiana Republican, dismissed the idea of ​​additional investigation or discipline for participating officials.

Nevertheless, some of Mr. Trump’s most loyal allies downplayed the incident. Fox News host Sean Hannity said the story is a “smear” that “left and left” is “smear”.