The Government of Donald Trump often boasts of being the most open and transparent administration in the history of the United States, but last week it demonstrated this in an apparently unintentional and astonishing way. Jeffrey Goldberg, director of The Atlantic, one of the country's most important magazines, recounted on Monday how National Security Advisor Mike Waltz mistakenly included him a few days ago in a Signal group, an application considered by some governments to be more secure than WhatsApp or Telegram, where the US bombing of Yemen was coordinated. Confidential and secret information was shared in this group, from the identity of CIA agents to the targets or weapons that would be used days or hours later in the attacks.
In a surprising text, Goldberg explains how he remains incredulous about everything and how for days he thought he might be a victim of an attempt at disinformation, either by a foreign power or even by the Administration, in some kind of ambush to be able to use something against him, given that President Trump has personally made him a target of his attacks.
But everything seems to indicate that no, as incredible and surreal as it may seem. The Signal group, which included, among others, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, star negotiator Steve Witkoff, Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, or his right-hand man Steve Miller, was real, and his inclusion was an error, apparently by Waltz, which no one understands.
"I don't know anything about it. I'm not a big fan of The Atlantic. It's a magazine that's going bankrupt. But I don't know anything about it. Are you saying they had what?" President Donald Trump limited himself to saying on Monday when asked. If he is telling the truth, it is surprising that his team did not inform him of something of this magnitude. If he is not, it would be an added problem if this were to be investigated.
"You're talking about a person who calls himself a journalist, a liar, and very discredited. Someone who has spread hoaxes time and time again, including, I don't know, the Russia, Russia, Russia hoaxes! Or the hoax of the good people on both sides. Or the hoax of the naive and the losers. So this is a guy who sells garbage. That's what he does," Hegseth reacted surprisingly, trying to deflect attention with criticisms of Goldberg when asked about the leak of confidential material, whose veracity has already been confirmed by the Government.
The story has many angles, some hilarious, like the reactions of the members of the Government of the world's leading military and nuclear power, with fire emojis, flags, or prayers for the confirmation of the attacks, which killed dozens of people. "I returned to the Signal channel. At 1:48, 'Michael Waltz' had informed the group. Again, I will not quote this text, except to point out that he described the operation as an 'incredible job'. A few minutes later, 'John Ratcliffe' wrote: 'A good start'. Shortly after, Waltz responded with three emojis: a fist, an American flag, and fire. Others joined soon, including Marco Rubio, who wrote: 'Good job, Pete and your team!', and 'Susie Wiles', who sent a text message: 'Congratulations to all, especially those in the theater of operations and CENTCOM! Really great! God bless you'. 'Steve Witkoff' responded with five emojis: two praying hands, a flexed bicep, and two American flags." The post-action discussion included assessments of the damage caused, including the likely death of a specific individual.
Or the apparent clashes in viewpoints, with Vance expressing doubts about a bombing that he considered not only providing free protection to European ships in the area but also an action difficult to sell at home, where "no one knows who the Houthis are" or why there is a need to get more involved in the Middle East and with an ally of Iran. Something that Miller, a staunch Trump loyalist, settles by reminding that the instructions had been given.
Not to mention the clear animosity that figures like Vance or Hegseth privately show towards Europe. A revealing element, beyond their speeches in Brussels or Munich, provocative tweets, or what they say in interviews for domestic consumption. "Vice President, I fully share your rejection of European opportunism. It's PATHETIC. But Mike is right: we are the only ones on the planet (on our side) who can do this. No one else even comes close. The question is the right time. I think now is as good a time as any, given the directive of the President of the United States (POTUS) to reopen maritime routes. I think we should do it, but the president still has 24 hours of decision margin," Hegseth says in the conversation.
But the main issue relates to security, confidentiality, and even laws. In 2016, Hillary Clinton, then Secretary of State, lost to Trump in the elections. To a large extent, the defeat occurred because Republicans managed to do enormous damage to her reputation with what is known as the email issue, after the press published, following leaks, that Clinton had used a private server for work matters. There was nothing irregular in the content of her emails, just how instead of using the government's server, she used others considered insecure and prone to hacking.
"Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, sent top-secret messages to Hillary Clinton's private account. And what did the Department of Justice do about it? Nothing," wrote Mike Waltz indignantly on Twitter in 2023 about that scandal of enormous political consequences. "If the most important man in the position handled classified documents in this way for so long... why? Did he really not know? Because if you're a senator, you know exactly what you're doing. You know it precisely," Hegseth mocked Biden in 2022, then a Fox News presenter, for the use of classified documents.
A decade later, the Government communicates through a Signal group, not even knowing who is included and sharing critical information about military targets. The journalist waited more than a prudent time to publish anything, did not provide details of agents or particularly sensitive material. He did not disclose the attacks because he was not sure if it was true or of the possible legal implications if it was all a trap to lure him in. Just on Friday, the Department of Defense in a cryptic statement announced an "immediate and thorough investigation" into "unauthorized disclosures, in coordination with relevant stakeholders of the Department of Defense (DoD), including those responsible for maintaining and overseeing information security systems, and in coordination with federal partners," without specifying what it referred to.
However, this far exceeds the scope of what happened with Clinton. And it's not just one person or one department, but the top echelon of the Government except the President himself. And those affected have confirmed the information. "The thread of messages appears to be authentic, and we are investigating how an unintended number was added to the chain. This thread demonstrates the deep and deliberate policy coordination among senior officials. The continued success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our military or our national security"; Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the National Security Council, limited himself to saying.
"Waltz and the other cabinet officials were potentially already violating government policies and the law simply by texting each other about the operation. But when Waltz added a journalist -presumably by mistake- to his board, he created new legal and security problems. Now the group was transmitting information to someone unauthorized to receive it. That is the classic definition of a leak, even if it was unintentional, and even if the recipient of the leak did not really believe it was a leak until Yemen was attacked by the United States," Goldberg writes.