201 Comments
User's avatar
Ghost Of WU's avatar

No, The whole Trump regime for prison. Kidnapping, extortion, dangerous incompetence, starving people, contempt, over reach, harrassment, stealing socia security, what haven’t they done? Criminal regime must go..

Paula B.'s avatar

War crimes, treason, insurrection, murder, theft.

Mary Brown's avatar

But no one who only gets their news from rightwing outlets will hear these details.

Renne's avatar

Unfortunately, stupidity is not something a person can be fired for. We all know every cabinet member that was hired had no experience in that particular job skill set. They were charity hires to thank the individuals for supporting the clown during his campaign. Yes, each and every one of them needs to go and go quickly. The muskrat is what the dumpster fire wants to be when he grows up (will never happen).

Sylvia's avatar

This does include trump, right?

Renne's avatar

It does. The whole team needs to go.

Renne's avatar

Unfortunately, stupidity is not something a person can be fired for. We all know every cabinet member that was hired had no experience in that particular job skill set. They were charity hires to thank the individuals for supporting the clown during his campaign. Yes, each and every one of them needs to go and go quickly. The muskrat is what the dumpster fire wants to be when he grows up (will never happen).

Ghost Of WU's avatar

Trump needs his fall guys and he won’t do Elon in. Elon bought the election for him and hacked tabulators in swing state with Russia calling threats to the polls. Facts. So it would all need to be revealed. It would be the biggest scandal of our country. We know what we are living through. History.

And Elon knew all these agencies had lawsuits for his illegalities. That’s why he is targeting the core of our federal workers. The eyes of our country protecting us from fraud, waste and abuse. He has broken it for a moment but we regather and come back harder. They are losing their cases and the world watches and judges. As they should…

Johnelle's avatar

Plus Elon is still giving money to trump. Trump is actually doing commercials for f-elon .

Linda Orlick's avatar

We the people demand the firing of Hegseth and everyone on that Chat immediately!!!!!

Sharon C Storm's avatar

Exactly, and we can’t let them weasel out, either. They must answer to We the People, whose security and safety they are putting at risk.

Mary Brown's avatar

But a good number of people would get their news from the vast number of rightwing media outlets will not hear or understand the enormous seriousness of the security breach that occurred because of incompetence. The other explanation in using this insecure app is that it erases the unprofessional content of the thread so no evidence will remain of that and the security risk.

Bambi Vargo's avatar

Let's clarify that. "Radical rightwing media"

Kathy's avatar

Scott Dworkin has a letter to send.Takes seconds !

NEW: Tell Congress to demand Pete Hegseth’s immediate resignation: https://tinyurl.com/y7acxswk/

Cheryl Johnson's avatar

I wrote mine yesterday and today took the 5 Calls action to phone my Senators and Congresscritter! I made it a point in my voice mail to remind Sen. Thom Tillis that if he had shown a little backbone and voted Hegseth down, this mess might not have happened!

I am determined to do my best to make sure Tillis flames out in defeat in the 2026 midterms. I am currently wrtiing voter registration postcards through Field Team 6 to register left leaning voters in NC. https://fieldteam6.herokuapp.com/getting_started

Bambi Vargo's avatar

We have a new Republicon Senator, Bernie Moreno. former used car salesman. Remember, this is the state that elected Junior Donald Vance to the Senate with NO political experience either. We have set the bar really, really low in Ohio for our U.S. Senators.

Jon Margolis's avatar

Except for Jeffrey Goldberg.

Small Acts Of Resistance's avatar

A couple of things to note about this call:

1. They all seemed comfortable discussing top secret information on Signal, suggesting they have probably done this before. And the only reason to use Signal instead of an official secure line would be if they did not want a record of the conversation.

2. Aside from the security implications, we should also be outraged that they planned to shake down Europe to extract “remunerations” for the bombing

3. Since they assume that no one cares about Houthis, they planned to keep the focus on “blaming Biden”

4. When I joined Signal, the first thing I learned was that I should use an alias. The fact that most of them did not do this just shows again how incompetent they all are

T L Mills's avatar

Yes, I noted how Vance, in particular, seems to really hate and despise Europe. What bug does he have up his butt?

Nancy Bishof's avatar

Maybe they don't have couches and sofas he likes.

T L Mills's avatar

Thanks for the laugh--very much appreciated today!!!

Pam McCullough's avatar

Frump never cared about retaining records in his first administration, why would he now? Also, while this story has gotten a lot of traction because of the breach, why are we not talking about the attack itself. Did we kill civilians in this attack?

Carol Taylor Boyd's avatar

The whole conversation made me sick! Bombing people for the heck of it, is shameful, an international crime and frankly state sanctioned murder.

Kathy Price's avatar

It's their attitude about the whole event that shows how immature and evil they are.

Pam McCullough's avatar

Definitely immature comments and handling of the whole thing

Pam McCullough's avatar

Well I think our attack was in retaliation for attacks on our ships by Houthis. However we struck an apartment building right? So how many innocent people died because of our attack?

Gypsy Chaos's avatar

Just to be clear, this was not a call. This was a series of text messages written, sent, read over several days. Each message was visible to every individual in the private group set up by Mike Waltz himself, not one of his staffers (per Waltz in a TV interview).

If this had been done as voice communications, the potential for parts being overheard by bad actors would be high. Consider one member was in Moscow, Russia during this time period.

User's avatar
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Mar 26, 2025
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T L Mills's avatar

They are also actively avoiding the creation of official documentation for the archives of the actions taken world wide during Trump's regime.

Claudia's avatar

Exactly. It's in the P2025 playbook, do NOT leave a paper trail. Using Signal was not a mistake. It's exactly what they meant to use.

Gypsy Chaos's avatar

Alec,

Official secure communication lines must and do exist.

Secure communication is permitted using SIPRNet, secure fax, or an STE (secure terminal equipment) phone.

1.) It’s unlikely the information shared in the chat would be classified as SCI - sensitive compartmented information. Classified as secret or top secret? Yes.

2.) Even though a SCIF was unlikely required: it would have been impossible for “every single word … take place in SKIF (sic)”. SCIFs are physical rooms. Given that at least one person, Wykoff (spelling?) was in a foreign country (Russia!), having the ‘conversations’ in a SCIF was impossible.

3.) Record keeping of all communications related to decision making at the highest level (cabinet included) regardless of sensitivity is required by law, with all records held by the National Archives.

foosbeal's avatar

WOW--this is stunning--thank you for posting-- and thanks to Atlantic.... and GOldberg.

Alec's avatar

BEAUTIFUL. If they want to call the facts into question, the facts will be used to obliterate them.

JudiLI's avatar

Thanks for sharing this! What a bunch of lying clowns.

Pam McCullough's avatar

WOW and they consider none of that classified? I mean the whole administration is always about CYA never about the truth but it's still astonishing

Liz Massey's avatar

Yes! This is applying pressure from the outside. "You say it's not classified - OK, we'll print it."

Lance Khrome's avatar

The tRump team continues to deny/blame Goldberg as the Signalgate clusterfuck continues unabated, and even the full release of the "principles" — LOL! — transcript hasn't stopped the lying and blame deflection.

"But her emails!"...how quaint, and down the memory-hole it went.

Marlene Lerner-Bigley (CA)'s avatar

JFC!! Every single one of those idiots should face a firing…SQUAD!

CatC's avatar

thank you for sharing! so important!!!

Jane in NC's avatar

I'm glad to see that Jeffrey Goldberg has responded to SECDRUNK Hegseth's lie that 'nobody was texting war plans!!!' by publishing Hegseth's texts outlining the war plans, including the planes, munitions being deployed, and the timing.

With the exception of Vance, who can only be removed by impeachment and conviction, every other member of that chat group should be fired and then prosecuted. But this is the Trump White House where corruption and incompetence are features, not bugs.

Brenda Feeney's avatar

Jane, completely agree. However, with DOJ and Bondi in trumps pocket WHO will prosecute this group of incompetents?

Jane in NC's avatar

That's the whole problem, Brenda. Nobody in the administration will step up. Certainly not DOJ or the FBI to conduct an investigation and bring charges. Certainly not the Castrated [republican] Congress, who obviously think national security is only an issue when a Democrat is in the White House. The administration will continue to downplay and deny the severity of this incident and disparage the reporter until the news cycle moves on. Which, based on the competence of the current MSM, will probably be about 24 hours from now.

Chris Ortolano's avatar

Make no mistake, they are going to prosecute Jeff Goldberg for espionage. Especially since he just released the texts they claimed were "unclassified." Someone should tell Waltz that if an journalist can easily hack into signal then imagine what an cyber ops team from a foreign country could do?

George's avatar

He didn't claim they were, 4 parties in front of the senate and the press sec said they were not classified.

By saving their own asses they are giving permission to expose the chat.

You should read the article, the author goes into detail about the various gov agencies they reached out to for comment or notes on releasing. Only two responded, one was the CIA chief who asked that their lower level operatives name be redacted (the same person told the senate committee that no names were too sensitive) and the press sec said nothing was too sensitive but they object to publishing anyway.

They are putting their own dicks under their own train. Pull out the popcorn 🍿🍿🍿

George's avatar

Someone below added that there is an important distinction between classified and national security secrets. This would qualify as the latter and based on what we know from the Clinton email debacle and Trump's documents debacle, national security secrets are above classification and likely above top secret, ie they require a scif to be disseminated.

Chris Ortolano's avatar

Sorry that was not clear, the "they" I mentioned was Hegseth, Gabbard, and Waltz. My fingers are slower than my brain thinks. 🤣

T L Mills's avatar

Jeffrey Goldberg did NOT "hack into" that stupid chat--Mr. Goldberg was INVITED into the text thread by the very guy who is trying to blame him. But HEY, every official person on that text thread assured the public that there was no "classified" material shared. Apparently they do not seem to understand that there is no difference in the security handling between "National Defense Information" and actual "Classified Material"

BATC's avatar

“We dodged a bullet,” Mr. Graham said.

How does he know? The administration has no idea which foreign or domestic actors may have compromised the Signal chat.

If, for example, another government did compromise it, they won’t let on, so as to be able to do the same thing in the future when these idiots decide again on convenience vs. security.

Tor Iver Wilhelmsen's avatar

Yes, if they think that a "mere" journalist was able to hack himnself in instead of being invited, then clearly foreign cyber crime actors would be able to as well.

Kathy Price's avatar

He didn't hack in. He was invited to participate.

Tor Iver Wilhelmsen's avatar

Yes, the "he must have hacked his way in" was one of the attempts at firefighting they did after the story broke - not sure if it was one of those involved in the chat or some of the talking heads on Fox who tried to make it not sound like an error on the part of the others in the chat.

Claudia's avatar

It's in the P2025 playbook, do NOT leave a paper trail. Using Signal was not a mistake. It's exactly what they meant to use.

George's avatar

And now other bad actors know there are people communicating like this in "public" forums.

Concerned Citizen's avatar

I just saw that it was released on another Substack person that I follow. Very detailed, very scary stuff. And I can’t believe those idiots down in Washington. Think they can just bluster and lie and hide everything. They do not belong in office! Absolutely none of them belong in office !!!!

JeanneFC's avatar

Yet some of our weak kneed Dems voted to confirm them. I’m looking at you Fettermanchin.

Concerned Citizen's avatar

And they were a couple of Democrats from here in New Hampshire that voted for things the GOP was pushing through, and I am very, not happy with them whatsoever!

Pat Resende's avatar

One of my senators, Maria Cantwell, voted to confirm Scott Bessent just days before he handed the entire U.S. Treasury over to an unaccountable, unelected nut job and his teenage thugs. I consider her actions a betrayal. And all of them voted to confirm Rubio. I’m not sure I’ve ever been as angry as I am right now.

Brenda Feeney's avatar

So Goldberg’s name was added to the list and HE’S the one being blamed. If he weren’t a credible, ethical journalist he would have put the information out. He should be hailed as a hero for not publishing anything. Since it’s now been declassified “unclassified” he should put it all out there. What a bunch of incompetent group of fools trying to lay the blame with Goldberg. How many lies does it take to cover up the first lie?

Geoff Henton's avatar

It is only a matter of time until the make a massive mistake that will cost many American lives.

Brendan Curran's avatar

I agree with your general point about their recklessness going unchecked. Still worth noting, wasn't the entire Trump COVID response from Feb 2022-May 2022 a massive mistake that cost many American lives? It was the governors who shut things down and started the shutdowns. He has towed the GOP line on so many negligent policies and beliefs that hurt nearly all Americans

Paula Starr Sherrin's avatar

Since Congressional GOP won’t clean house, it seems litigation is our only recourse. Perhaps Goldberg will sue for slander.

foosbeal's avatar

and lets get everyone out april 5th for a gigantic march!

Ron's avatar

It is important to point out that accidentally adding Goldberg was not the security breach. This discussion was the highest level of TS/SCI communications, second only to nuclear weapons information. It can only happen inside a properly rated SCIF, with all attendees being authorized to access that scif, and using properly rated high side networking for connecting remote parties. Just because Signal encrypts the messages as they travel, IN NO WAY makes it acceptable for TS communications. For example, someone may access the device that is not cleared, the device itself may be compromised allowing access to the information, there is no way to confirm the identity and clearances of other participants (that's what got them here), and the list goes on. In keeping with US laws on classified materials handling and spillage, everyone involved needs to have their clearances permanently revoked and needs to be fired, for not understanding the first thing about the responsibilities of holding a clearance.

Larry McGinnity's avatar

Yes, it;s obvious that Hillary, Joe, and probably Kamala are the cause and be blamed--together with the Houthis and Signal, of course.

Pam McCullough's avatar

You forgot Obama. He obviously had a hand in this too

Larry McGinnity's avatar

Yes, both Obamas, of course, not to mention Bill Clinton, Truman, and FDR :-)

Natalie Hall's avatar

Is anyone going to ask, what if it was on purpose? You don't just add someone accidentally. If they didn't mean to add Goldberg, they meant to add SOMEONE. Who is that someone? If there's no obvious choice, then logically, it was intentional.

Louise Pattison's avatar

I guess it was "fat fingering". The journalist wrote that he got a connection invite from Mike Waltz 2 days before the group chat was started. Most likely he happened to be Waltz's most recent added contact, still his "active chat" if you like. Then, Waltz created a new group chat by adding other people to that active chat instead of starting a new thread. Easy to do.

T L Mills's avatar

Then perhaps Mr. Waltz shouldn't be in a position where his lazy carelessness could endanger or perhaps even cause fatalities to the people in the military who have to carry out orders and plans from these careless incompetents.

J E Ross's avatar

If Goldberg hacked in, how freaking dangerous is it to have sensitive military plans bandied about on Signal?? THAT is the national security story. Witkoff was in MOSCOW when he entered the chat. The federal gov. has SCIFS to avoid exposure through non official channels, but if you're running around in public with your freaking personal cell phone while communicating specifics that Goldberg deemed too sensitive to include in his article (!), double-ended encryption be damned, that information is exposed!

Pam McCullough's avatar

I find it funny that instead of admitting he was added by mistake they are going with Goldberg hacked the communication. If he had hacked it then that is literally admission that they shouldn't be using the app to begin with right? I mean if a "low level, good for nothing" journalist can hack it then the hacking experts who are literally looking for such communications can. This administration is full of morons.

T L Mills's avatar

It is, indeed, full of morons who think that by lying about the original mistake--thus getting the innocent INVITED-TO-THE-TEXT-THREAD reporter in trouble--they can get away with it.

Marlo's avatar

EVERYONE on that chat should be fired at the very least. The Statute states “10 years prison.”

An excerpt from Robert Hubbell’s newsletter:

“The lies, disinformation, and slander employed by Trump and the GOP to deflect from the scandal of Signal-Gate

At various points in Tuesday’s news cycle, Trump and his supporters resorted to the following falsehoods (bolded) to distract from the grievous lapse of security in the Signal text chain forwarded to The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg:

• The text chain did not contain “classified information.”

Demonstrably false and semantic gamesmanship. The texts contained non-public, sensitive information that was undeniably “national defense information”—which is the information protected from unauthorized disclosure by statute.

This claim is especially dangerous and short-sighted because it suggests that the information in the texts can and should be disclosed. When the US military is given a chance to weigh in, they will vigorously assert that operational details of a missile strike is highly sensitive national defense information that must be protected at all costs.

• Use of the Signal app was approved or appropriate.

That claim is demonstrably false. DoD policy specifically prohibits use of the Signal app. Indeed, the DoD issued an updated alert on March 18, 2025—only a week ago—warning that users of Signal were “common targets of surveillance and espionage activity [that] has made the [Signal] application a high-value target to intercept sensitive information."

• The Signal app is widely used throughout the administration, including the CIA.

While it may be true that Signal is used throughout the administration, if it is used for government communications, such use is illegal on many levels. It is no defense to the nation’s most senior officers using it to plan a missile strike against the Houthis.

It is critically important to make a distinction between using a Signal on a government phone to communicate about information that does not qualify as national defense information (“I’ll meet you at the Capitol Grill at 6 PM) vs. national defense information (“We will bomb the Houthis tomorrow at 10 AM.) While the former may be permissible, the latter IS NOT. CIA Director John Ratcliffe tried to play fast and loose with that distinction during his testimony, but had to finally admit that classified systems must be used for national defense information.

• The White House Counsel told the participants in the text chain that it was okay to use Signal.

Wait, what? Federal statutes and regulations require the use of classified communications systems to transmit national defense secrets. No lawyer in the White House has the authority to override those statutes and regulations. Indeed, Trump does not have the authority to override the statutes and regulations. (Do not get confused over Trump's power to “declassify” material, which is discussed below.) Trump cannot override federal statutes requiring that national defense information be held confidential.

And again, there is a difference between using Signal for personal communications on a government device versus communicating about national defense information.

• The distinction between “classified” information and “national defense information” is critical.

The administration spent a lot of time saying that “no classified information” was included in the text chat. That is beside the point and an attempt to mislead.

👉The relevant statutes prohibit the unauthorized sharing of “national defense information.” See, e.g., 18 USC § 793 (f), imposing up to ten years in prison for anyone who

being entrusted with . . . information relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed. . . .

The words “classified information” does not appear in the statute that criminalizes the unauthorized disclosure of “national defense information.”

What is “national defense” information? 18 USC § 793(a) defines it as information that the person possessing the information has

reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation . . . .

Obviously, anyone with advance information about plans to attack Houthi rebels has reason to believe the information—if leaked—could be “used to the injury of the United States” or “to the advantage of any foreign nation.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/lessons-for-democrats-from-signal

All these were violated:

• Title 44

• The Presidential Act

• The Espionage Act

Not one person in the chat questioned if there should be a more secure way if communicating or a mire secure location.

George's avatar

And they all keep lying. The whole thing makes no sense. It's starting to look like they wanted to get caught so that their unintelligible circle jerk could come to light and they could wave it around as a victory of some sort.

Marlo's avatar

They are liars, hypocrites and now CRIMINALS. A chip off the old block of our lying, hypocritical, felon who is illegally our President (in name only).

Jessica DeFalco's avatar

The whole administration is trash.