Trump officials are scrambling to respond to the Signal group chat scandal, claiming that no classified information was actually shared in the group. In response, The Atlantic has published more of the messages, since apparently that’s fine.
On Monday, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffery Goldberg reported that he had been accidentally added to a Signal group chat full of U.S. officials, who were using the encrypted messaging app to plan a military attack in Yemen. This made the reporter privy to sensitive information he claimed “could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel.”
As such, one might expect that the U.S. government would like to keep such information under wraps. This is apparently not the case.
Speaking before the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence and likely chat participant Tulsi Gabbard denied that the information shared in the Signal group chat was classified, though it was unclear how Gabbard came to this conclusion considering that she also refused to confirm that she was even in the chat. In his article, Goldberg asserted that a chat participant named “TG” appeared to be Gabbard.
“There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal chat,” said Gabbard.
“If there was no classified material, share it with the Committee,” Senator Mark Warner responded. “You can’t have it both ways.”
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Ratcliffe did admit to being in the Signal chat, however maintained that it was all perfectly by the book.
“One of the first things that happened when I was confirmed as CIA director was Signal was loaded onto my computer at the CIA, as it is for most CIA officers,” Ratcliffe told the Committee. “It is permissible to use [Signal] to communicate and coordinate for work purposes, provided… that any decisions that are made are also recorded through formal channels.”
Of course, coordinating an office meeting and planning a military bombing on a foreign nation are two entirely different beasts.
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Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., references a copy of the Signal chat during the House Select Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday.
Credit: Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump, and confirmed chat participants Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and national security advisor Michael Waltz also asserted that the Signal chat didn’t include classified information.
The Atlantic apparently took them at their word, and on Wednesday morning published further messages sent in the Signal chat. This included a detailed, minute-by-minute operation plan detailing Saturday’s bombing of Yemen, sent by Hegseth before the attack took place.
“There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in non-secure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared,” wrote Goldberg and fellow Atlantic reporter Shane Harris.
When the Committee questioned Gabbard about these newly released messages later on Wednesday, particularly in light of her previous testimony, she confirmed that she was in the Signal chat but now stated that she “did not recall the exact details of what was included there.” Quoting from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Classification Guide, Rep. Jason Crow noted that “information providing indication or advance warning that the U.S. or its allies are preparing an attack” is classified as top secret.
Interestingly, Rep. Jim Himes also questioned Gabbard on her behaviour on X, asking whether she believed it was “responsible for [her] as head of the intelligence community and the principal presidential intelligence advisor to retweet posts from individuals affiliated with Russian state media.” In response, Gabbard stated that she had done so from her personal account, and that she was exercising her First Amendment right to free speech.
Waltz blames technical issues for adding Goldberg to Signal chat
Credit: Jaap Arriens / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Waltz admitted that the Signal incident is “embarrassing” and said he took “full responsibility” for the security breach, but claimed that the messages weren’t classified information. He also continued to attack Goldberg’s credibility, accusing him of regularly lying and claiming that he couldn’t recall if he’d ever met the reporter. The National Security Council (NSC) and other U.S. officials have already confirmed that the Signal chat was authentic.
Waltz stated that an investigation was underway to find out how the security breach had happened, apparently assisted by the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) head and Trump’s close advisor Elon Musk.
“I just talked to Elon on the way here, we’ve got the best technical minds looking at how this happened,” Waltz said.
The former Fox News host further denied having added Goldberg’s contact information to his phone at all, stating that how it got there would be part of the investigation. Waltz alleged that Goldberg’s number had been saved in his phone under somebody else’s name, though he declined to say who he thought he had added to the Signal chat.
“Well if you have somebody else’s contact, and then it, and then somehow it gets sucked in,” said Waltz, speculating as to how he came to have Goldberg’s number.
Signal’s support page states that the app’s contact list will show Signal users who are in your phone’s contact list, as well as those who you share a group with, have previously messaged, or have explicitly approved.
