The Trump Administration’s Latest Blunder

The Trump administration’s ineptitude and dysfunction were on full display last week when the Secretary of Defense inadvertently sent details of a secret bombing mission in Yemen to Jeffrey Goldberg, the head editor of The Atlantic, via a text message. The incident, which has come to be known as "Signalgate," has sparked renewed scrutiny of the White House and raised concerns about the team’s absurd approach to operational security (OPSEC). A new report now alleges that the official responsible for the debacle was also involved in other secret conversations on the app.

New Report Reveals Further Involvement

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has taken responsibility for adding Goldberg to the infamous Signal chat, and screenshots published by The Atlantic clearly show that he was the one who did it. However, the Trump administration has also put Waltz in charge of investigating how this happened, as if there’s some significant technical mystery that needs to be solved. As Waltz investigates his own mistake, a new story claims that he may have been involved in several other ill-advised chats. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Two U.S. officials also said that Waltz has created and hosted multiple other sensitive national-security conversations on Signal with cabinet members, including separate threads on how to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine as well as military operations. They declined to address if any classified information was posted in those chats.

Criticisms and Speculations

Critics have speculated that the Trump administration has been using encrypted civilian messaging apps to circumvent public transparency regulations – a decision that many security experts think is mind-numbingly dumb. The report doesn’t provide much information on how many other Signal conversations Waltz may have been involved with. Gizmodo reached out to the White House for comment.

Waltz’s Media Blunders

Since his recent media appearance, Waltz hasn’t done himself any favors. In a hilarious White House press conference involving both himself and the President, Waltz stammered his way through a public non-apology, mumbling something about "lessons learned" before accusing the media of lying and bragging about America’s stance against terrorism. "Thank God for American leadership! Thank God for American strength! You’re welcome, world!" Waltz said, when Trump asked him why he had sent war plans to a journalist. Obviously a mental and verbal trainwreck, Waltz later went on Fox News and sought to dispel rumors that he and Goldberg had a previously established professional relationship.

Denials and Contradictions

During the Fox News segment, Waltz called Goldberg the "bottom scum of journalism" while claiming he didn’t know the editor and that he had never texted with him before. He admitted, however, that he had somehow added Goldberg’s number to the group chat. Laura Ingraham, to her credit, didn’t immediately let the issue go:

Ingraham: "How did it end up on your phone?"
Waltz: "That’s what we’re trying to figure out."
Ingraham: "That’s a pretty big problem."
Waltz: "That is why we got the best technical minds, right?"
Ingraham: "That’s disturbing."
Waltz: "I’m sure everybody out there has had a contact, where it said one person, and then a different number."
Ingraham: "But you’ve never talked to him before, so how’s the number on your phone?"

Contradicting Claims

Goldberg has come out to deny Waltz’s claim that the two didn’t know each other. "My phone number was in his phone because my phone number is in his phone," the editor told NBC’s Meet the Press. "He’s telling everyone that he’s never met me or spoken to me – that’s simply not true. I understand why he’s doing it, but this has become a somewhat farcical situation."

Waltz’s Colleagues’ Reactions

Apparently, Waltz wasn’t particularly well-liked even before he accidentally invited a journalist to a secret foreign policy meeting. The Journal reports that even "before the most recent episode, Waltz had annoyed many of his colleagues by seeming imperious and expressing views that were out of line with Trump’s agenda, two administration officials said."