The mainstream media has covered the news of the Signal leak with copious overstatements and blatant lies. What else can be expected from Democrat propagandists masquerading as journalists?
So, here are some facts.
Signal is an encrypted messaging app. The Biden administration recommended using the app as “best practice” for “highly targeted” officials.
A Signal messaging group called “Houthi PC small group” was set up for the Trump administration’s security team, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Chief John Ratcliffe, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, Trump adviser Stephen Miller, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Vice President J.D. Vance, etc.
The purpose was to facilitate interactions and keep members updated about the targeting of Houthi terrorists.
At the beginning of March, Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic Monthly, was added to the group, giving Goldberg access to all the messages. Goldberg isn’t a Trump critic; he is a rabid Trump hater and is the last person who should be part of such a group.
Goldberg claims that, on 11 March, he initially “received a connection request on Signal from a user identified as Michael Waltz,” Trump’s national security adviser, and he subsequently received a notice that he was to be included in a Signal group titled the “Houthi PC small group.” Goldberg claims the group received a message from Waltz, which also noted one of his deputies was “pulling together” a team of top staffers relevant to the discussion.
March 24, Goldberg published a piece claiming that ‘U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.’ Goldberg is making an excuse for not leaving the group by claiming he didn’t think it could be ‘real.’
The Trump administration said that no classified information or details about the operations were shared on the chat group.
Waltz told Laura Ingraham, “I take full responsibility. I built the – I built the group.” Marco Rubio also conceded that the mistake had occurred.
There were noisy hearings on Capitol Hill where Democrat lawmakers engaged in grandstanding before hapless Trump officials. Democrats with worse skeletons in their closets viciously condemned the leak. Goldberg toured from one network to another as he blew his own trumpet.
On March 26, Goldberg published a follow-up titled ‘Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal‘; the contents are updates and discussions relating to the terror strikes in Yemen.
The Democrats are hoping that Trump is forced to sack a cabinet member. Such sudden departures cause instability and even paranoia among officials, which could impede the MAGA agenda. It also enables Democrat propagandists to claim, ‘Trump cabinet member departs in just over 60 days of his being sworn in’ and push the chaos and incompetence narrative.
The Democrats also hope it will lead to a probe or a lawsuit that will allow prolonged inquiries, audits, and access to the inner workings of the Trump administration. Their goal is to disrupt the implementation of the MAGA agenda and use government agencies to target Trump officials as they did during Trump’s first term.
The first steps to facilitate this may have just occurred. Activist Judge James Boasberg was assigned to a lawsuit alleging that Trump officials violated federal record-keeping laws due to the Signal chat leak. Last week, Boasberg attempted to block Trump from using wartime powers to deport Venezuelan migrants. Hopefully, AG Pamela Bondi is ready to prevent such judicial overreach.
Let’s focus on the content of the leaks.
It would have been problematic if they were caught making obscene or bigoted remarks, using expletives, or engaging in jingoistic bravado.
It would have been scandalous had they been conversing about targeting political opponents or disparaging the MAGA agenda.
But the opposite occurred. Vance had concerns about the strikes going “against the MAGA initiative of not wanting to have optional military engagements,” adding he wanted to raise the matter with Trump. Hegseth concurs with Vance but adds that it’s about restoring navigational freedom and reestablishing deterrence.
It would have been scandalous if officials sounded inept, uncaring, laid back, or casual. However, the chat revealed that members of Trump’s security team were serious, focused, competent, and disciplined while not forgetting why they were elected. Usually, politicians from both parties receive votes on promises they have no intention of keeping. The messages were logical, precise, and thoughtful. The English was formal, and there were almost no short forms or emojis. Voters curious to know the inner workings of the Trump administration will be pleased.
But these good revelations do not excuse the seriousness of leaks.
Many on the right chose to engage in WhatAboutism following the news. It is worth remembering that the Democrats are guilty of much worse and never took any remedial action. Thirteen American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan following Biden’s withdrawal, but no official was punished.
But pointing out Democrat recklessness doesn’t absolve Trump officials from their grave error. People voted for President Trump because they wanted to end the corruption and incompetence of the Democrats.
There are a few questions about the leak.
Most firms that use apps such as Signal for internal communication include additional security measures to prevent non-employees from joining group chats and even have stronger encryption to prevent interception. The cabinet officials were using the regular version of Signal, with no additional security, where any mobile user with the app installed can be added. This is unforgivable when matters of national security are being discussed.
Ideally, an Information Security team should have conducted a review of the Signal app before it was deemed suitable for use.
If Waltz had used his government phone, there was no reason for Goldberg to be in his address book. Waltz told Laura Ingraham he doesn’t know Goldberg and has never interacted with him. He said he received the contact from someone else and that the contact was erroneously labeled, i.e., the name was that of another individual, but the number was that of Goldberg. If this claim is true, the sender of the contact could be the saboteur assigned to cause trouble.
Perhaps officials must be ordered to have limited contacts (such as cabinet members with similar security clearance) in the address book of their office-issued mobile device. Maybe restrictions are placed on adding new contacts. This will prevent erroneous additions to a group chat. Personal phones are the place for random contacts.
It is also a serious problem that Goldberg was able to remain on the chat group for 10 days undetected. The members of the group should have noticed this. Usually, notifications are received when a new member is added, and the person doing the adding introduces the new member. The question remains: how did all members of the group not notice the addition? Now, it is possible that the member was added when an active chat was in progress, and the notification drifted upwards beyond the visible screen.
It is presumed that an information security compliance official oversees the addition and removal of members to such groups where national security matters are discussed. It is hoped that such officials would immediately notify everyone of a breach, such as the addition of Goldberg, and have privileges to take remedial actions, i.e., the removal of Goldberg. But either such an official doesn’t exist, or the official allowed it to happen due to incompetence or malice.
It also raises questions of whether such recklessness has occurred before and if it went unreported.
We must also be concerned that saboteurs and moles still haven’t been booted out.
A thorough, fair, and swift investigation is desperately required. Immediate remedial actions must be taken, and the public must be updated about it. Perhaps Musk’s IT team can help with the investigation and implementation of security measures, including a safer and more secure app for communication.
It is also essential that Goldberg be investigated for not quitting in the chat group despite knowing he wasn’t supposed to have access. It must be ascertained whether Goldberg shared privileged information.
Trump officials must never forget that they are pilgrims in the unholy land of D.C., and hence, they must operate with extreme caution.
Image: Signal
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