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Marigrace McKay's avatar

The Atlantic double-downed! More of this is needed.

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Joanna Weinberger's avatar

Yes, it was double down or perhaps raise and see, Ms. McKay. The Atlantic publisher knows poker. The timing caused Tulsi Gabbard to perjure herself. And didn’t Trump tell Zelensky that Ukraine doesn’t have the cards. Uh-huh.

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Jim Gray's avatar

Since impeachment is off the table until after the midterms, we need to look to the brave people in other parts of the world who have taken to the streets and declared general strikes. This whole incident and their responses, as if all was well, should be a clear indicator that we are witnessing the dissolution of our democracy. It’s looking more and more like 1933 Germany. Rise up!

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Bob W's avatar

I sincerely hope we don’t have to put with this top-to-bottom traitorous, incompetent, lying bunch of sycophants for two more years. Assuming???? there will be mid term elections. Rump and lead stooge Mush being the king pin and primary Dirty Works Doer respectively…are the worst of the bunch should go first…anyway possible!!!!! The rest will fall apart in no time!

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Ted Alby's avatar

When I was in the Army, one of my major responsibilities was security of classified information. Because of that background, I have been livid at the Trump administration's cavalier treatment of classified information. I once watched a poor first lieutenant lose a hoped-for military career for a far lesser mistake in allowing access to highly sensitive areas. I have written to my legislators three days in a row about "Signalgate" here is the most recent.

This morning, in his Substack column "On Democracy", Fred Wellman alleged that high level officials within the Department of Defense were ordered by this administration's civilian appointees to install the social media app Signal on their secure government phones. It has been credibly alleged that Russia has cracked the Signal encryption algorithm in Ukraine. If this is true, it seems unlikely that Russia has limited this ability to Ukraine. This is not only dangerous, but likely criminal.

There are two possible explanations for such a move. The first is that this incompetent administration is attempting to avoid retention of records of their conversations for nefarious purpose. The second, even more frightening, explanation is that they're aware that Russia is monitoring their conversation and are okay with that. Given the administrations abundance of pro-Kremlin moves and executive orders, it's impossible to dismiss the latter explanation. That amounts to nothing more or less than treason.

This matter is easily the most serious national security threat I can remember.

I rest assured that you will do everything you can in its pursuit.

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Ann Sharon's avatar

Der Spiegel had some bad news regarding 3 of the folks involved in Signalgate. It was picked up by the Guardian last night and a few US outlets began mentioning it. WhatsApp and Signal are mentioned.

“Hegseth, Waltz, Gabbard

Private Data and Passwords of Senior U.S. Security Officials Found Online”

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/pete-hegseth-mike-waltz-tulsi-gabbard-private-data-and-passwords-of-senior-u-s-security-officials-found-online-a-14221f90-e5c2-48e5-bc63-10b705521fb7

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Antonia Zorrilla's avatar

Concerned citizens would not have known about the buffoonery that went on prior to and after the Yemen bombing if this patriotic journalist had not been invited to join the chat. So ironic. A lesser journalist could have done damage.

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Margaret J Park, M.Div. Writer's avatar

Thanks gentlemen. 12 Million!

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Leakie's avatar

"The the prosperity of the liar is of short duration; the reception of one story is always an incitement to the forgery of another less probable; and he goes on to triumph over tacit credulity, till pride or reason rises up against him, and his companions will no longer endure to see him wiser than themselves." So says Samuel Johnson. We shall see.

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Alan Roth's avatar

As the hardships become greater, more people will be demonstrating, and so far the demonstrations are peaceful, but eventually, Trump will let loose the Proud Boys and others with weapons to add violence to the demonstrations. That is intentional to set the stage for Trump to declare martial law and call on the military to stop all demonstrations while calling off the 2026 elections, cancel the courts and declare his Executive Orders the law. He becomes the King, enriching himself and his selected billionaires at the expense of a ruined economy for everyone else.

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Steven Beschloss's avatar

And “on the ruins of public liberty,” as George Washington described the despot’s rise.

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Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

Is anyone else thinking about the Army/McCarthy hearings of 1954? Being only 3 years old at the time, I didn't learn about them till a few years later, but they turned out to be the beginning of the end of Sen. Joe McCarthy's rampage. Trump and Musk have committed numerous outrages, but this one, like the Army/McCarthy hearings, deals with national security and, indirectly at least, the military. Republicans who don't give a damn about USAID or education *do* give a damn about national security. I'm hoping this scandal will have lasting repercussions that the earlier ones haven't.

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Sharon C Storm's avatar

I’ve thought of those hearings more than once recently. I was 14. I remember coming home from school and my mother was ironing next to the radio. She was so angry that there was an iron shaped burn on one of my dad’s white shirts. She was crying because she ruined the shirt, and furious about the hearings on the radio. It took her quite a while to stop and sit down and calm herself.

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Norma Flores Fausone's avatar

Everyone on that call should resign! Marco Rubio definitely should have known that the call shouldn’t have taken place. Nothing but Stupidity from all of them.

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Ann Sharon's avatar

Waltz was a Green Beret, defense policy director in the Pentagon in the Bush Administration. He was also on the Intelligence Committee in the House. He would know better too. Same for Ratcliffe who was the Director of National Intelligence in trump’s 1st term. As should all of them — especially those who have been privy to classified /secret information before taking these jobs. Hegseth who served in the Military; Gabbard who has a military background & served in Congress (was on the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations).

It’s infuriating but it is what happens when qualifications don’t matter.

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Steve Netti's avatar

Sure the mishandling of classified information is a problem. There is a bigger issue here. The use of the Signal app is the bigger problem. Government officials are using an app that automatically deletes official communications that are supposed to, by law, be preserved and archived.

It makes me wonder why they want to delete communications. Could they be doing things that are not legal and want to hide their illegal actions?

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Paula B.'s avatar

As I have been saying since this happened, it's about more than resignation or firing. They should be in jail. They have exposed national secrets to people who don't have clearances.

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Carl Selfe's avatar

The recent U.S. attack on Houthis revealed to the public a security breach of unparalleled proportions. The breach identified a rogue, unprincipled element of senior U.S. leadership. This group knowingly and unlawfully violated OPSEC rules and U.S. Espionage Act laws. The group discussed—on a commercial communications chat app—an imminent top secret aerial attack on an enemy in the Arabian Gulf.

The commercial app Signal’s chat communications by the law-breaking group extended across the U.S. and internationally. The group included one operative that was in Moscow where open communications are collected and analyzed.

The meeting was set up and attendees invited on the commercial Signal app by the NSA, our National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. The NSA is the most senior of our intelligence officers. This is not “setting an example”.

NSA Michael Waltz assumed "full responsibility" for the leaked Signal group chat of senior Trump officials. "I take full responsibility. I built the group," Waltz said on "The Ingraham Angle" Tuesday. "It's embarrassing. We're going to get to the bottom of it."

Get to the bottom of it? What is that supposed to mean? You more than hit rock bottom, you went 6 feet under. Government-owned phones are being issued by the Executive Branch with the commercial Signal chat app already installed on them. Each phone carrier knows the app eases stored data. This app’s erasure of data has the phone carrier guilty of violating the Presidential Records Act of 1978.

Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Pete Hegseth, a participant in the group chat, has not yet hit rock bottom, but is aiming to exceed Waltz’s debacle depth record. Hegseth flat out denies the obvious breach by trying to wordsmith like a 5 year old. He denies “war plans” were given out. That is not the point. Classified information was disclosed.

After an initial round of air strikes on March 15, the SECDEF wrote in the chat that “CENTCOM was/is on point,” referring to the military’s Central Command, which was in charge of the operation. It is CENTCOM that would have set the SECRECY classification level for that attack. That is a record that no one has changed. It takes an “Authorized Declassifier” to change the assigned security level. The SECDEF had that unilateral authority as the OCA, but failed in his responsibility. He is not real bright. Amateur hour. Watch for them to change the official records.

Authority: The authority to declassify information rests with the Original Classification Authority (OCA) or their successor, or officials delegated declassification authority by the Secretary.

Executive Order 13526: This order outlines the procedures for classifying and declassifying national security information, and it's the primary legal basis for declassification.

https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/cabal-signals-classified-conflict?r=3m1bs

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Ann Sharon's avatar

You may want to read the reporting by Der Spiegel. Their reports say they were able to find accounts and passwords on the internet that belonged to Hegseth (their easiest finds), Waltz and less so for Gabbard.

— “Most of these numbers and email addresses are apparently still in use, with some of them linked to profiles on social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. They were used to create Dropbox accounts and profiles in apps that track running data. There are also WhatsApp profiles for the respective phone numbers and even Signal accounts in some cases.”—

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/pete-hegseth-mike-waltz-tulsi-gabbard-private-data-and-passwords-of-senior-u-s-security-officials-found-online-a-14221f90-e5c2-48e5-bc63-10b705521fb7

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flo chapgier's avatar

the Democrats in charge need to make press conferences tho be circulated globally

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Alex Rosas MD's avatar

should call it “ National Insecurity”

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Clark's avatar

One thing that didn't get mentioned about one participant being in Russia, is that Trump would be pleased so he's not going to get any of these, his servants, in trouble about it.

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Jim Gray's avatar

I am seriously concerned that the Mango Mussolini and Musk-ox have treated our government like Humpty Dumpty. They’ve pushed him off the wall. Now I’m worried we’ll never be able to put our government back together again.

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