Summary

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied allegations that he texted classified war plans to a Signal group chat that mistakenly included The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.

The National Security Council confirmed the chat’s authenticity but called the inclusion of Goldberg an inadvertent mistake.

Lawmakers from both parties demanded investigations, with former CIA Director Leon Panetta warning of potential espionage violations.

Hegseth dismissed Goldberg as a “deceitful” journalist. Trump denied knowledge of the incident.

  • jordanlund@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    He knows they have the screenshots and the NSC confirmed it, right?

    https://x.com/JenGriffinFNC/status/1904221405618577650

    NSC statement:  “At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain. The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our servicemembers or our  national security.” - NSC Spokesman Brian Hughes

    The Trump administration does not deny this Signal group chat about the war planning for the Yemen strikes is real. Trump’s top national security advisers added reporter

    @JeffreyGoldberg

    @TheAtlantic

    to the war planning text chain on non-government social media app, perhaps breaking secrecy laws. Read this shocking story below.

  • corroded@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Even if everyone in the chat had a need-to-know, you do not use insecure 3rd-party software for classified communications. Secure networks already exist for this.

      • Jerkface (any/all)@lemmy.ca
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        9 months ago

        Doesn’t protect from FOIA, if you use your phone for official communication and it stores records, your phone can be FOIA’d.

        • NotSteve_@lemmy.ca
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          9 months ago

          According to the original article, the messages were set to auto delete after a max of 4 weeks :)

  • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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    9 months ago

    Lmfao

    The editor in chief of The Atlantic wrote an op-ed on the whole episode, and they have corroborated and confirmed from multiple sources that he was, indeed, inadvertently shown data that is considered SCI in a Signal group chat that was likely conducted through the personal devices of administration officials.

    There is no debate here. That happened. This is like rear ending someone in your car and totaling both vehicles and just refusing to even acknowledge that you even felt anything.

    • ZoopZeZoop@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I agree with your position, but think it’s even worse than the situation depicted in your analogy because of the security implications and the accountability implications. I don’t know how to represent those in your analogy, though. Lol

  • maplebar@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    These fucking guys only ever lie and deny.

    Are we really too stupid and weak as a country to be able to do anything about this?

    • pubquiz@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      It would seem the case - the US is impotent while the sitting president twiddles his thumbs and denies knowing his upper eschelon staff are using unsecure comms. Makes me laugh about the tough-guy image they want versus the limp-dick energy the display.

  • Helvetica@sh.itjust.works
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    9 months ago

    He’s going with the Shaggy defense? “It wasn’t me”. I mean, it works for them. It will probably all blow over because no one is going to do anything. But this should absolutely destroy him.

  • leadore@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    "You’re talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again…This is a guy who peddles in garbage.

    Hegseth then added, “oh wait, that’s me.”

    • andallthat@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      yes, so typical and yet so effective so far.

      Phase 1: eat a baby in plain view at a crowded event

      Phase 2: get really angry and personally attack anybody who mentions it and their employer

      Phase 3: after a few days just roll your eyes and dismiss with “again with that baby thing?”

      If nothing serious happens right after phase 1, holding onto this as future political ammo seems to be worthless. I really hope I’m wrong and that the accumulation of these things is enough to turn enough of Trump’s base against him but they accumulated a whole fricking lot by now and there is still room for more…

  • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Why is nobody talking about the fact that we are bombing Yemen? Yes, including a random person in a text channel talking classified information is a problem. But, why are we just brushing off the actual chat contents?

    • Revan343@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      Because pointing out that America is bombing Yemen is like pointing out that water is wet.

      • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        That’s not an excuse. There were huge ass protests over the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War. Putting pressure on officials to end this bullshit os worthwhile. Shrugging, and saying meh, it is what it is is super unhelpful.

    • Englishgrinn@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      There’s a couple reasons -

      1. It wasn’t so much “bombing Yemen” as it was, bombing a terrorist organization within Yemen’s borders. This is something every American administration has done for decades. That makes it poor political fodder, you can’t “one up” the competition with it.
      2. Most Americans would agree that the Houthis, once it is explained to them who they are, need to be bombed. The actual action would be reprehensible to some, but acceptable to most. You can’t put pressure on an admin to change their tactics when they feel they have a plurality of support.
      3. The sad and undeniable fact is that in American politics - American lives are simply more important than foreign ones. That’s not really unique to American culture, it’s not meant as a criticism, it’s just a sad reality. Bombing Yemen is pretty low risk for American lives - but sloppy OPSEC put American lives at huge risk so that’s where the focus is.

      In a perfect world, the fact that America is committing violence in other nations and is not realistically reigned in by International Laws or Treaties would be a point worth getting upset about. But that fact is over 100 years old and has been successfully normalized. The idea of incompetent buffoons operating the Department of Defense like a bunch of frat boys trying to organize a kegger is marginally newer and more impactful on the national psyche.

    • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      They’re bombing the Houthis rebels who are (were?) fucking with the red sea shipping route to protest Israel, but I’m not sure how much they’re still fucking with it today. The Yemen government isn’t fully in control of Yemen.

    • dubyakay@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      CENTCOM shit. If Trump and Elon were genuine, they’d get rid of this true waste of tax payer $s.