President Trump represented extraordinary security violations in Tuesday's crime and insisted that senior administration officials discussed secret military plans in a group chat, including editor-in-chief of Atlantic magazine.
“So that's not classified,” Mr. Trump said at a meeting with the U.S. ambassador at the White House. “Now, if it's classified information, it might be a little different, but I always say, you have to learn from every experience.”
Mr. Trump also represented his national security adviser Michael Waltz, who accidentally added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat on the signaling app, which included Vice President JD Vance and others. In the chat, Defense Minister Pete Hegseth shared information about time, targets and weapons systems that will be used to attack the Hotti militants in Yemen.
“I think it's very unfair to the way they attack Michael,” the president said of Mr. Walz.
The information shared by Mr. Heggs before the March 15 strike was not classified, given the life or death nature of the operation.
The President and the Secretary of Defense have the ability to assert that information even retroactively. But officials declined to answer questions about the details of the information, or to determine exactly that the question was not classified and could be shared on the signal, an encrypted commercial application.
Mr. Heggs condemned Mr. Goldberg late Monday, saying he “twill peddled the scam again and again.” But Tuesday morning, in the Senate testimony, the first two U.S. intelligence officials acknowledged that the communication released by the Atlantic was accurate.
At the White House meeting, Trump repeatedly turned to Mr. Walz to answer when reporters raised questions about the leak to the president. Mr. Walz tried to redirect the focus to a large extent, praising Yemen's strike and attacking Mr. Goldberg.
“I've never seen it, didn't know, never communicated with it,” he said, adding: “We're researching and reviewing how he got into this room.”
Mr. Trump called Mr. Goldberg “Sleazebag”.
Later on Tuesday, Mr. Waltz told host Laura Ingraham on Fox News that “I take full responsibility for sharing the plan”, adding that he had “set up a group” and inadvertently added Mr. Goldberg to it, even though he insisted that “I don’t text him, he’s not on my phone.”
But the overall reaction of Mr. Trump and his allies – downplaying the incident while placing the blame on opponents – was a stereotyped practice that the administration and its supporters choir deployed throughout the president’s political career while seeking to divert criticism. Mr. Trump is reluctant to admit his mistakes, and despite some Democrats calling on Mr. Walz and Mr. Heggs to resign, the president appears to be wary of the staff who fired him. Doing so can pierce his argument that the early months of his second term were just success.
“They've made a lot of money from it because we have two perfect months,” Mr Trump said.
The Trump administration’s account directly contradicts the account given by Mr. Goldberg in the Atlantic’s explosive report on Monday. Goldberg shared some screenshots and quotes from the group chat in his article, but said he chose not to share the most specific information about strike plans and combat damage assessments that could be used to harm U.S. military and intelligence personnel.
Mr. Goldberg rejected the Trump administration’s assertion that there was no classified information, simply saying: “They were wrong.”
Former national security officials who have been involved in similar operations in past administrations said they tend to agree even if they don’t see the news.
“No matter how small, especially before the action is carried out, any details or facts about the action will be classified,” said Chris Meagher, a senior official with the Department of Defense during the Biden administration. “Through such an action, there is no way to admit that the mission exists, which is not classified.”
During a controversial Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday, Democrats condemned the U.S. top spy chief, CIA director John Ratcliffe and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard.
They were both included in the chat about the signal, although Ms. Gabbard would not initially answer the Senator’s questions about whether she was involved. When Ratcliffe confirmed his involvement, she followed his leadership.
“This slippery, this disrespect for our intelligence agencies is totally unacceptable,” Sen. Michael Bennet, Democratic Colorado, said at the hearing. “You need to do better.”
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, who was vice-chairman of the committee, announced that intelligence officials and others in the group chat showed “sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior” and he was obviously angry. Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, advised Mr. Heggs and Mr. Walz to resign. Many Democrats resurfaced nine years ago from clips of Mr. Walz and other Trump allies, criticizing Hillary Clinton's use of private email servers when he was Secretary of State.
Mr. Trump's instructing her to deal with information from these internal departments was a major issue in his 2016 campaign, calling for a criminal investigation.
During the hearing, Mr. Ratcliff and Ms. Gabbard acknowledged the sensitivity of information about the strike targets, but remained insisting that sensitive information was not shared in their areas of responsibility.
Mr Ratcliffe said Defence Secretary Mr Heggs wanted to determine what information could be shared in uncategorized chats.
Even if information is not classified, disclosure in non-guaranteed environments may still violate the 1917 Espionage Act. Under the law, so-called defense information does not have to be classified for its exposure to undermine the security of the country. The Justice Department rarely prosecutes violations that do not involve confidential materials, while Mr. Trump stocks loyalists who are less interested in challenging him or his officials.
“The Atlantic story is nothing more than a part of the North Sith’s institutional community and has run the same, tired gameplay over the past few years.”
He added: “Anti-Trump forces try to weaponize harmless operations at every turn and turn them into false anger that fake news media can use to peddle misinformation. Don't let the enemy of America get rid of these lies.”
Other senior Trump officials and allies also lashed out at Mr. Goldberg.
But several Republicans expressed concern 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. Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Armed Forces Committee, said his team will investigate what happened, but provided no details.
“We are absolutely worried,” Mr. Wick told reporters, adding that he and his committee colleagues are “considering our options.”
Mr Goldberg's report also raised concerns about the use of signal, non-security messaging platforms, and sets messages to automatically delete. The Presidential Records Act enacted in 1978 states that the government “should retain and retain all ownership, ownership and control of the Presidential Records”, including materials that Presidential staff create or receive in their formal duties.
Mr Ratcliffe said the White House and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Bureau have approved the use of signals for senior officials, indicating that it is safer than a regular phone line because it is encrypted. One of China's major intelligence services was piercing the unencrypted network of major U.S. telecom companies last year, allowing them to access phones and some text. Officials say the move to encourage the use of signals and other encryption applications is part of an effort to get China and other rivals to answer ordinary calls.
But the signal was not approved for a classified dialogue. These should only be conducted on special, secure lines, with callers speaking from within secure facilities.
One of the security features of the signal is that the user can set messages that disappear after a period of time. Watchdog Group U.S. oversight filed a lawsuit in Washington federal district court Tuesday, requiring the judge to retain all signal information in relevant panel chats.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt opposes concerns about signal use.
“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 on social media.
Mr Trump said he wanted officials to meet in person, but he defended their use of the signal and suggested what happened on the app, not on Mr. Waltz.
“It's imperfect equipment and technology,” he said.
Reported by Adam Goldman,,,,, Julian Barnes,,,,, Robert Jimison and Chris Cameron.
