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Tag: Classified information

  • Journalist Accidentally Added to Military Planning Chat: What You Need to Know

    Journalist Accidentally Added to Military Planning Chat: What You Need to Know

    On March 13, The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat that included senior Trump administration officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The group chat—titled “Houthi PC small group”—contained sensitive information about U.S. military operations. Two days after Goldberg was added to the chat, Hegseth sent details about upcoming airstrikes on Yemen, including specifics about weapon type, timing, and human targets. About two hours after Hegseth’s chat, the first of the air strikes began to fall on Yemen, killing at least 53 people. 

    After the strikes were confirmed, Goldberg determined that the group chat was legitimate. He subsequently left the chat due to concern about the highly classified nature of the information being shared. Goldberg noted that the members of the group chat did not seem to notice that he had been added to the group chat or that he had left, despite the group’s creator being notified of Goldberg’s departure.

    Concerns and Controversy

    The existence of the group chat has raised concerns regarding national security and potential violations of federal law. National security and legal experts say that Michael Waltz, Trump’s national security advisor, may have breached the Espionage Act by creating the Signal group chat and communicating classified war planning information. The Espionage Act prohibits unauthorized access to or distribution of sensitive national defense information.

    While Signal is commonly used by government officials for logistical coordination, it is generally not employed for classified military communications. Instead, the federal government maintains secure communication channels specifically for such discussions. Experts warn that classified messages on Signal could be vulnerable to leaks in the event of a cybersecurity breach or the theft of an official’s device.

    ​​Beyond security risks, the use of disappearing messages in discussions of official acts raises concerns about compliance with federal records retention laws. Under these laws, official communications related to government actions must be preserved as part of the public record. Some messages in the Signal chat, however, were reportedly set to be automatically deleted after a few weeks.

    Trump Administration Response 

    The Trump administration has denied that the group chat contained classified information or “war plans.” White House Press Secretary Katherine Levitt dismissed Goldberg’s report as a “hoax written by a Trump-hater.” When asked about the leak on March 24, President Trump denied knowledge of the situation and downplayed the controversy, stating that The Atlantic was “not much of a magazine.”

    Officials in the administration have continued to assert that the group chat did not involve sensitive military details. Hegseth maintained that “nobody was texting war plans,” while Waltz took responsibility for accidentally adding Goldberg to the group chat, stating that the journalist’s number was listed under someone else’s name.

    Full Transcript Released

    In response to the Trump administration’s denial, The Atlantic published the full transcript of Hegseth’s attack plans on Yemen. These texts include information such as the types of aircraft being used in the strike and the timing of the strikes. In response to the release of the full transcript, the Trump administration and senior officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio have maintained that no classified information was leaked, nor would the leaked information have “put in danger anyone’s life or the mission.”

  • Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed as Director of National Intelligence: Can She Keep America Safe?

    Tulsi Gabbard Confirmed as Director of National Intelligence: Can She Keep America Safe?

    In another significant development in Washington, Tulsi Gabbard—once a Democratic congresswoman, later an outspoken critic of her party, and now a key ally of President Donald Trump—has been confirmed as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

    Gabbard’s political journey has been anything but conventional. Born in American Samoa and raised in Hawaii, she became the youngest person elected to the Hawaii state legislature at 21. After serving in the Hawaii National Guard and deploying to Iraq, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012, becoming the first American Samoan and Hindu member of Congress.

    Her tenure in Congress was marked by independent positions on foreign policy, including a 2017 meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which drew bipartisan criticism. In 2022, she announced her departure from the Democratic Party, claiming it was under the control of an “elitist cabal of warmongers.” 

    A Contentious Confirmation Process

    During her confirmation hearings, Gabbard faced intense scrutiny over her past statements and actions. Senators questioned her previous defense of Edward Snowden, whom she had once called a “brave whistleblower.” When pressed to label Snowden a traitor, she responded: “Edward Snowden broke the law.” 

    Snowden, a former NSA contractor, leaked classified information in 2013 about the U.S. government’s mass surveillance programs, including the bulk collection of American phone records under the Patriot Act. His revelations exposed the extent of the NSA’s global surveillance operations and sparked a worldwide debate on privacy, national security, and government overreach. While some view Snowden as a whistleblower who revealed unconstitutional surveillance, others, including U.S. officials, see him as a criminal who endangered national security.

    Gabbard had previously argued that Snowden deserved a fair trial rather than immediate prosecution under the Espionage Act, which does not allow whistleblowers to defend their actions in court. However, her confirmation hearing remarks signaled a shift, suggesting she would take a harder stance on intelligence leaks now that she leads the nation’s intelligence apparatus.

    Reversal on Surveillance Policies

    During her confirmation hearings, Tulsi Gabbard faced intense scrutiny over her past statements and actions. Senators questioned her previous defense of Edward Snowden, whom she had once praised for exposing illegal government activities. When pressed to label Snowden a traitor, she acknowledged that he broke the law but refrained from using the term “traitor.” 

    Regarding government surveillance, Gabbard had been a vocal critic of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), expressing concerns that citizens’ communications could be incidentally collected when targeting foreign nationals. 

    However, during the hearings, she indicated a shift in her stance, suggesting that with appropriate reforms, Section 702 could be a valuable tool for national security. This change led some Democrats to accuse her of political opportunism, while Republicans viewed it as a necessary evolution given her prospective role.

    Despite strong Democratic opposition, Gabbard’s nomination was confirmed by the Senate with a vote largely along party lines. 

    As Director of National Intelligence, Gabbard now oversees all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, NSA, and FBI. Her appointment raises pressing questions about the future of U.S. intelligence policy. Will she uphold her past calls for transparency and civil liberties protections, or will she adopt a more traditional intelligence posture now that she’s at the helm?

    With rising global threats, cybersecurity challenges, and intense domestic political divisions, Tulsi Gabbard faces an uphill battle. The question is no longer whether she could get here. It’s whether she can succeed.