Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, dropped a bomb on the Trump administration when he published on March 24, 2025, “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.” Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/trump-administration-accidentally-texted-me-its-war-plans/682151/) The reporting about the use of Signal as the messaging app used by top cabinet members and others led by Pete Hegseth to plan a highly sensitive operation to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen is getting a lot of media attention, even though Republicans are trying to play it down, to normalize it. This is amateur hour, a clown show. Of the 19 participants, 13 are listed in the postscript, none of whom acted to shut down the use of Signal because it was clearly a violation of defense protocol. The only one who acted appropriately and responsibly was Goldberg.
Senator Tom Cotton said that the Biden administration had authorized the use of the Signal app. True, but his words are a classic half-truth, which makes it a half-lie, with the half-lie being more important than that “good old boy” half-truth. At the time, John B. Sherman, the chief information officer for the Defense Department, wrote, “Unmanaged ‘messaging apps,’ including any app with a chat feature, regardless of the primary function, are NOT authorized to access, transmit, process non-public DoD information. This includes but is not limited to messaging, gaming, and social media apps. (i.e., iMessage, WhatsApps, Signal)” (Source: https://www.al.com/politics/2025/03/gop-senator-claims-biden-approved-signal-app-used-in-mike-waltz-pete-hegseth-group-chat-is-it-true.html).
There is so much here that illustrates incompetence and lack of character. Minimizing this use of an unsecured app on likely personal phones rather than government-issued phones that can’t use Signal is so problematic. After all, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe mercilessly attacked Hillary Clinton for using an unsecured server: four pots called the kettle black.
Of course, Trump did his Sergeant Hans Schultz I know nothing!” impression from Hogan’s Heroes by saying, “I don’t know anything about it.” He then did his pivot to shoot the messenger, which has been used since ancient times, saying, “I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me, it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. I think it’s not much of a magazine, but I know nothing about it.” It is true that several years ago, The Atlantic had a deficit of $20 million and had let go 17% of its staff. Still, it has turned its business around, increasing circulation to over one million subscribers and returning to profitability. (Source: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/how-the-atlantic-went-from-broke-to-profitable-in-three-years-03cc3b18’) Their coverage of Trump and his minions has been amazing and is driving even higher circulation.
Yesterday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, testified on March 25, 2025, and waffled in their responses, most of which were, “I don’t recall.” These severe memory problems make them unfit to hold their positions. Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor on Fox News last night, called Jeffrey Goldberg the bottom scum of journalists for publishing the story. Hegseth said, “Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that.” (Source: https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/us-news/hegseth-claims-nobody-was-texting-war-plans-in-first-comments-since-yemen-strike-group-text-scandal/) Hegseth then attacked Goldberg calling him “deceitful” and a “discredited so-called journalist.” (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2025/mar/24/hegseth-journalist-hoaxes)
Today, March 26, 2025, the “deceitful” and “discredited so-called journalist” published the contents of the Signal chat, “Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal” (Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-group-chat-attack-plans-hegseth-goldberg/682176/). It is clearly classified. Now, Hegseth may have declassified the contents since Goldberg’s first story broke. Some within the administration are hanging their hat on Goldberg’s use of a “war plan” when this classified information was merely an “attack plan.”
Steve Benen’s article, “Did the Trump White House cross legal lines in the ‘Signalgate’ debacle?” suggests that legal lines were crossed. Benen quotes Garrett Graff, who writes, “This is clearly not a Signal thread that anyone had any intention of preserving — as they are legally required to do! — under federal records law.” (Source: https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-white-house-cross-legal-lines-signalgate-debacle-rcna198058) So now it is “Signalgate” and it has a life of its own that Republican blather cannot coverup. This is just going to get worse and worse.
As an aside, the Europeans are likely unhappy with Vance’s comments about hating to bail out the Europeans by protecting shipping in the Suez Canal.
So many people knew that Pete Hegseth was not up to the job of Secretary of the Department of Defense, including Senator Jodi Ernst, who folded because of the threat of a primary. Hegseth, a DEI hire based upon Republican sentiments, has now proved his incompetence. He should resign, or Trump should fire him.
The unraveling of “Signalgate” is a glaring example of negligence at the highest levels of government. While the administration scrambles to downplay the scandal, the legal and ethical implications are undeniable. While Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker and Ranking member Jack Reed plan to investigate the matter, it is not clear how much stonewalling will go non. The irony of those who once championed strict security measures now being caught red-handed using unsecured apps for classified communications cannot be ignored. The consequences of these reckless actions will continue to unfold, potentially leading to resignations, legal battles, or further erosion of public trust. One thing is clear: this controversy is far from over, and the fallout will shape political discourse for months to come.
Time left to January 20, 2029: 1,396 days
P.S. The 19 participants on Signalgate included thefollowing.
JD Vance, Vice President
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor
John Ratcliffe, CIA Director
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff
Stephen Miller, Deputy White House Chief of Staff
Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East
Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury
Joe Kent, nominee for National Counterterrorism Center
Brian McCormack, National Security Council member
Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic
