On March 24, The Atlantic released the article “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans” by their editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. Since then, lawsuits and hysteria have followed the government because of its large security breach and lack of accountability.
As Goldberg expressed in his article, the journalist received a series of messages on Signal, a commercial encrypted messaging application, regarding the Houthis beginning on March 11. This continued until March 15, when the detonations in Yemen occurred, confirming to Goldberg that the chat was real. Goldberg had accidentally known of the plan to attack Houthi targets before the rest of the world in what is an insanely irresponsible act by our governmental officials.
Who Are the Houthis and Why Is the US Attacking?
The Houthis are a political, religious, and military group that is centered around the Zaydi branch of Islam, which is mainly present in Yemen. They’re in a current war against Israel and began targeting Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea, which is when the U.S. stepped in.
With U.S. ships and aircraft now becoming targets, the U.S. has begun shooting at drones and targeting the Houthi and Yemen. One of the many complaints the Trump Administration had about Biden’s Administration was the lack of action against the Houthis and their attacks on commercial traffic and ships. Based on the leaked information, it’s ironic how the Trump Administration had their own “safe” way of handling the situation.
The Leak on Signal
Somehow, Goldberg was added to a Signal chat group called Houthi PC (principals committee) small group. This included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and other top governmental officials. At first, Goldberg thought that the chat was fake because — why on Earth would airstrike plans targeting the Houthi be texted?
Goldberg came to the unfortunate realization after the attacks happened at the time Hegseth said it would on Signal, 1:45 p.m. EST. Unintentionally or not, a journalist with no means or authorization was added to a group chat with important military information. Not only is it absurd that this occurred with no one realizing it but the texts themselves were questionable, to say the least.
In his article about the leak, Goldberg included screenshots of the conversation between Hegseth and Vance discussing when to attack, as well as the congratulations and reactions of all members after the attacks. One of the more viral reactions is Waltz’s three emojis: a fist, an American flag, and fire. Most people use these emojis now in a really ironic or patriotic way. Waltz decided to use them when discussing airstrikes.
Decisions and conversations involving potential life-and-death scenarios being discussed over text raise safety and ethical concerns, leaving most of the country in disbelief.
Espionage Act and Legal Concerns
Unsurprisingly, Hegseth has denied the claims of texting war plans on Signal, bashing Goldberg in the process. Though it isn’t technically step-by-step war plans, the texts included minute-by-minute plans that the U.S. was planning to carry out, revealing its contribution to a global conflict and undeniable war in Yemen.
The incident has since been downplayed by the White House as Trump claimed the situation was a “glitch” that had “no real cost.” In reality, the accident is telling of the current security and qualifications of the administration.
The use of Signal has brought legal concerns about possibly violating the Espionage Act, which criminalizes disclosing information on national defense. National defense information was discussed in an app that is not approved currently by the government for sharing such information. The information is supposed to be discussed in designed spaces by the government (sensitive compartmented information facilities).
If the information had been leaked, as it was lots of U.S. official’s phones, there would’ve been many safety implications. The potential for service members to be in danger would’ve been high, along with the safety of classified information. Since Signal is not secure, the potential for leakage is very much present. The choice to still use it, despite being advised against it for government use, is concerning for the protection and defense citizens are promised.
Hypocrisy in Office
Following this massive breach of security, Democrats and citizens have been calling for the removal of Hegseth in his role as Defense Secretary and Waltz as National Security Advisor. Given the circumstances, any other official would have been charged, lost their position, or forced to resign from other administrations.
This situation has been drawn back to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 email fiasco. Clinton lost public approval and support once it was leaked that she was using a private email server rather than an official State Department email, a potential violation of federal procedure. The email controversy arguably cost Clinton her 2016 presidential election to Trump. Ironically enough, the same officials (Ratcliff, Rubio, and Hegseth) who criticized Clinton are now being questioned for doing the exact same thing.
In one of the most viral reactions to the “Signalgate” situation, Clinton responded with, “You have got to be kidding me.”
In 2016, Hegseth said as a Fox News Host, “If it was anyone other than Hillary Clinton, they would be in jail right now.” In the same scenario, Rubio also said, “Nobody is above the law — not even Hillary Clinton, even though she thinks she is.” Nine years later, their words now apply to themselves.
The whole scandal remains concerning to the public and fellow governmental officials on how such a mistake could happen within the first two months of Trump’s secondary presidential term. It’s still unclear whether or not Hegseth and Waltz’s positions will be questioned, as well as the legal implications of it all. Like they said, though, nobody’s above the law, right?
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