The accidental leakage of sensitive military intelligence into Atlantic magazines by senior members of President Donald Trump’s administration has led to a surge in response across Washington, DC.
Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in an article published Monday that he was added to group chats with an accidental encrypted messaging app signal.
Goldberg said the debate provided him with knowledge of airstrikes against the Hooty rebels earlier this month, hours before they were implemented.
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes confirmed the credibility of group chat. This includes US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz, who said the agency is reviewing how Goldberg numbers have been added.
Below are some of the reactions to security breaches from Republicans and Democrats.
Trump
The US president initially told reporters that he knew nothing about the leak and expressed his disdain for the Atlantic.
“I’m not a huge Atlantic fan. For me, it’s a magazine going out of business,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t know anything about it. What are you saying they have?”
In a statement released later Monday, White House spokesman Karoline Leavitt said Trump has “maximum confidence” in his national security team.
Heggs
Despite the White House’s credibility of group chats, the US Secretary of Defense challenged the characterization of the Atlantic incident, exploding Goldberg with “a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalists who created the profession of peddling hoaxes.”
“I’ve heard how it was characterized. No one texted the war plan, and that’s all I have to say about it,” Heggs told reporters.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson
Johnson, a top-ranked Republican in the House of Representatives, said he hopes the Trump administration will take steps to “ensure that it never happens again.”
“I think it’s a terrible mistake to have a negative impact on those involved in that call,” Johnson told reporters.
“They were trying to do a good job. The mission was accomplished accurately.”
John Tune, leader of the US Senate majority
The South Dakota Republican said he was only aware of the situation but would work with his colleagues to “understand what happened there.”
“We have a plan,” Thune told reporters.
US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Jeffries, a Democratic leader in the House, said the leak was “completely outrageous and shocking my conscience.”
“The increasingly dangerous example of our country is another unprecedented example of the promotion of reckless and mediocre individuals, including the Secretary of Defense,” Jeffries, who represents New York’s 8th Congressional District, said in a statement.
“Hospital Republicans must be serious about keeping America safe and not merely sico fans or enablers, but Democrats must join this swift, serious and substantive investigation into this unacceptable, irresponsible national security breaches.”
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
Schumer, the Senate’s highest-ranking Democrat, described the incident as one of the “most spectacular military intelligence violations” he has heard.
“What we have here is a senior U.S. leader, including the Vice President and Secretary of Defense, who categorized the arguments of military action over a safe app,” Schumer said in a speech to the Senate.
“It’s bad enough that the addition of civilians to this chain is bad, but it’s far worse that sensitive military information was exchanged in fraudulent applications, especially when that sensitive military information was very important.”
Republican Sen. Roger Wicker
The Mississippi Senator, who chairs the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, said he and his Democratic colleagues expected to hold a classified briefing on the leak to get to the bottom of what happened.
“It’s definitely a concern and it looks like a mistake has been made. There’s no doubt,” Wicker said.
Democrat Senator Jack Reed
Reed, a top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said the leaks represent one of the worst security and malicious failures and common sense I’ve ever seen, if true.
Senator Rhode Island said in a statement.
“The carelessness shown by President Trump’s cabinet is amazing and dangerous. I will immediately seek the answer from the administration.”
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Clinton expressed distrust over the social media blunder as the 2016 presidential campaign was plagued by questions about sensitive information handling.
“You need to joke with me,” Clinton said with X in a post with two big eye emojis.
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