The White House secret chat scandal is gaining momentum. What the media is writing
The United States continues to investigate the incident involving the addition of journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a secret chat in which the administration of President Donald Trump discussed strikes against the Yemeni Houthis. National Security Adviser Michael Waltz claimed responsibility for this, and the intelligence leadership and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth received accusations against him. What the media write about the scandal is in the Izvestia digest.
NBC: Intelligence leadership questioned in the Senate
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe spoke at a meeting of the Intelligence Committee in the U.S. Senate. They stated that they had not shared any classified materials about US military plans in a group correspondence in which Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, inadvertently participated.
NBC
The incident raised questions about the Trump administration's handling of classified information, as well as its use of the Signal encrypted messaging app and other electronic communications. <...> When asked by Democrats whether the time and place of the planned military strikes were reported in the chat, Gabbard replied: "I can confirm that no classified or intelligence information was included in that chat."
Goldberg, who writes about national security, said that Ratcliffe and Gabbard participated in the Signal chat, as well as US Vice President Jay Dee Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz. Democratic senators called on the intelligence leadership to resign and criticized the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The Guardian: Waltz claimed responsibility for the incident
Trump's national security adviser, Michael Walz, said he takes "full responsibility" for a group chat with senior administration officials in which a journalist inadvertently participated and who disclosed highly confidential information about planned airstrikes in Yemen.
The Guardian
"It's embarrassing, yes. We're going to get to the bottom of this," Waltz said, adding that he's consulting with Elon Musk. — We have the best technical minds who are studying how this happened. <...> I take full responsibility. I created a group. My job is to make sure everything is coordinated.""
Waltz admitted that the contact with Goldberg's phone number was recorded under a different name. He stated that he did not know the journalist and had not corresponded with him, calling him "the trash of journalism" and criticizing the media for focusing on this scandal. Waltz did not provide evidence that Goldberg could have intentionally been in the group.
Associated Press: Trump called the incident insignificant
Trump downplayed the significance of the incident surrounding a chat with confidential plans for a military strike against the Yemeni Houthis, in which the journalist took part. He stated that this was the only mistake of his administration in two months, and expressed his support for Waltz. According to him, the mistake was not serious.
Associated Press
"Michael Waltz has learned his lesson, and he's a good man,— Trump said. He also appeared to place the blame on an unnamed Waltz associate for adding Goldberg to the chat. "It was one of Michael's people on the phone. The employee had his number there."
Trump also lashed out at The Atlantic and Goldberg, giving mixed signals as to whether the administration would change its approach to sharing confidential information in the future. The President noted that "solid lead walls, lead ceiling and lead floor" are best suited for discussing confidential issues.
The Washington Post: the head of the Pentagon was under intense scrutiny
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denies that he sent military plans to colleagues before the US strike against the Houthis, and instead criticized Goldberg himself, calling him "deceitful and extremely discredited." The episode rekindled alarm among Democrats and seasoned national security experts about Hegset. During the proceedings in the Senate, his figure was discussed and it was he who was pointed out in the intelligence leadership as a possible culprit.
The Washington Post
Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, a former Marine infantryman who, like Hegseth, served in Iraq, said he probably would have been court-martialed if he had been involved in such a violation while on duty. Speaking on Tuesday [March 25], he described Hegseth's attacks on Goldberg as a distraction.
Some Republicans have also expressed concern about the Signal incident. Senator Roger Wicker, who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he plans to conduct a bipartisan investigation into the issue and will seek access to chat messages.
The New York Post: Europeans are annoyed by the behavior of American officials
The discussion of the planned strike on Yemen in the Signal chat was replete with insulting comments about the Europeans. The conversation between the American officials demonstrated their real feelings that the Europeans are freeloaders and that any American military actions must somehow be paid for by other beneficiaries.
The New York Post
"I just don't want to save the Europeans again," wrote Vice President Jay D. Vance, arguing that the strikes would benefit Europe much more than the United States. "I fully share your disgust with European freeloading," Pete Hegseth, the defense minister, later replied. "It's PATHETIC."
The comments in the correspondence were another blow to the NATO alliance, which the Trump administration has managed to weaken in just a few weeks. The leak from the group chat highlighted why a divorce between the United States and Europe may be necessary: the United States is no longer the reliable ally it once was, neither in words nor in practice.
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