Summary

Lawmakers from both parties expressed outrage after The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief revealed he was accidentally included in a Trump administration Signal chat discussing Yemen airstrikes.

Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) called for investigations and firings, labeling it a serious security breach.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) criticized the use of non-secure systems, warning that adversaries like Russia and China could exploit it.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) condemned the administration’s mishandling of classified information, saying it endangers national security.

  • leadore@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    No heads will roll. What most stories miss is that the main reason they didn’t use official channels for this (and most likely many of their other conversations as well) is that they don’t want to comply with the Federal Records Act. They don’t want there to be a record of a lot of the shit they’re saying and doing and plan to do.

    • jacksilver@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Yeah, I know why the guy came clean, but it would have been so much more useful if we stayed on the chat. Really a big missed opportunity.

      • leadore@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        OTOH he did stay on it as long as he could while still being able to protect himself by saying he didn’t think it could be real and most likely a scam or attempt to entrap, plus the thread was basically over by then anyway.

        • pleasegoaway@lemm.ee
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          4 days ago

          Yep. If he stayed on the chat too long he would have been arrested for espionage and imprisoned for life.

          The trump regime’s gross incompetence put him in a dangerous position.

          • leadore@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            Meanwhile, I suspect that someone on the inside quietly looped the journalist into the group as a way to expose what’s been going on. If so, that person is in grave danger.

              • leadore@lemmy.world
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                3 days ago

                I haven’t found anything so far saying who invited him in. Just passive voice that he was “inadvertently” included. So in your source that it was Waltz, did it say whether he personally did it or was it one of his staff? I’d be interested to know how it happened. Did someone misunderstand who “JG” meant? (apparently it was just his initials). If so, who with the initials JG did they think they were inviting. I’d appreciate any link with that info if you have it.

  • greenhorn@lemm.ee
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    3 days ago

    Hegseth is now saying it didn’t actually happen, matching their incompetence with dishonesty, the tone of this “merit based” administration

  • rational_lib@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I’m shocked that the administration of “Put the big boxes of top secret docs under the bathroom chandelier” would mishandle secret war plans.

  • Rakonat@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Remember in 2016 when the entire magat crowd screamed that Hillary should be locked up for using a private, secure server that was only accessible to authorized individuals?

    Surely they won’t be hypocrites and try to brush this under the rug, or worse try to blame the editor-in-chief who had no desire to get wrapped up in this.

    • melpomenesclevage@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 days ago

      haha, yeah, let’s get them on this hypocrisy. surely this will be the last one, if we just point it down and take it to mom, everything will be set right. no real effort required.

      • Guns0rWeD13@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        thank you. people just need to stop it. we all get it. now what are we going to do about it?

        no one is coming to save us.

        guns.

        • melpomenesclevage@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          3 days ago

          see, pointing at guns in the american sense is kind of… not productive. the american conception is very capitalist, that the value of the gun comes from owning it, rather than using it.

  • velvetylogic@lemm.ee
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    3 days ago

    The worst thing is aside from being inept and careless, there is no chance they aren’t selling secrets to anyone willing to pay.

    • kava@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      well said. I’m surprised at the reaction towards this specific event.

      the administration is purging the federal government, rerouting tens of thousands of federal agents to enforce immigration (literally 80% of ATF is now focused on immigration. DEA, FBI, IRS, and more are all being recruited to help with immigration), illegally ignoring court orders, using a Stasi-like group of unmarked federal agents to intimidate with threats of criminal prosecution and force people into compliance (look at what happened at the SS office or the non-profit U.S. Institute of Peace), giving executive orders that are blatantly and explicitly unconstitutional (like the one to end birthright citizenship)

      that isn’t even starting to mention the genocide happening in Palestine that is not only being condoned but openly embraced. we are arresting and attempting to deport individuals whose only crime is that they are anti-Israel. permanent residents are being denied entry into the country because they have a photo of a Hezbollah leader on their phone

      the administration is using coercion and threats to force over 60 universities (Colombia being the most visible) to change the things they are teach, abandon certain policies, suppress student speech, and dramatically increase police presence. all in the name of fighting “anti-semitism”

      it has only been a couple of months and right now Congress is making a stink about a text message

    • Eugene V. Debs' Ghost@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 days ago

      Killing people in the middle east has been a source of income for us since the 1950s, a chat room error can only happen since the 90s, it’s the new interesting thing for the media to gawk at as people are being killed.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Heads should roll? Maybe, if you ask nicely, the French may share some equipment and experience.

    • martin4598@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      We actually preserved a few ones. We would be happy to provide. We can even take the 25% tarrif on our account.

  • melsaskca@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    Democrats…“Why I oughta…If I only…boy oh boy are you ever…sigh”.

    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 days ago

      And the yemenis but they’ve got the wrong skin tone for anybody to even mention. Genocide is completely normalized.

  • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    4 days ago

    Devil’s Advocate Hot Take:

    This is an expression of power. An intentional leak to show that “We get to break rules, and you cannot.” We see it as incompetence and abject hypocrisy, but it could be a purposeful leak because they don’t care about being seen as hypocrites, they are about showing us they can get away with it. It could also be a Trial Balloon about the kind of wars they intend to wage.

    /takes off tinfoil hat

    I really think they really are just this stupid, but I think its at least worthwhile to consider the alternative, because a lot of what conservatives do is about using hypocrisy as a weapon and expression of power over others. They want us getting angry about such things, so they can can be cool and collected and say that we’re overreacting because they’re so calm while chuckling and sneering at us.

    “But her emails!” Yeah they don’t actually give a shit, they may just want to show they can get away with it. Much like Trump rejecting using a government issued cell phone in his first term and Bush “losing” millions of emails.

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      This is an expression of power. An intentional leak to show that “We get to break rules, and you cannot.”

      Hanlon’s razor applies I think:

      “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence or stupidity”

      I really think they really are just this stupid

      Yep. They fired all the adults that think things through and provide rigor for a reason so the only people left are children doing whatever they want ignorant of the consequences.

      • merc@sh.itjust.works
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        4 days ago

        Exactly. If they had wanted to intentionally leak classified information in order to move the overton window or something, they would have done it differently. They wouldn’t have had the VP disagreeing with Trump. They wouldn’t have actually leaked serious classified information, including the name of an active CIA officer. They wouldn’t have leaked it to the editor in chief of the Atlantic.

        They fired all the adults that think things through and provide rigor for a reason so the only people left are children doing whatever they want ignorant of the consequences.

        For example, they fired anyone who would otherwise have said “Folks, this is not an appropriate communications tool for classified information. This needs to be shared in a SCIF”.

        Anybody who knows better also knows to keep their mouth shut if they want to keep their job in this admin. And even if keeping their job isn’t their priority, they know that if they speak up they risk being scapegoated, hung out to dry, and possibly killed by MAGA loyalists for daring to confront the king.

    • very_well_lost@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      As long as we’re putting on our tinfoil hats, it’s also possible that this was an intentional action taken against The Atlantic (or against Jeffrey Goldberg in particular). Trump’s admin has plenty of reasons to want to silence that publication, and might’ve hoped that by “accidentally” giving Goldberg access, they could entrap him into committing a crime (mishandling of classified material, espionage, etc).

      With a little cooperation from the AG’s office, presto! You’ve got one of your biggest critics in jail, and sent a message to other would-be whistleblowers.

      • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        4 days ago

        Reminds me of this from the Bush II years:

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killian_documents_controversy

        The Killian documents controversy (also referred to as Memogate or Rathergate) involved six documents containing false allegations about President George W. Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard in 1972–73, allegedly typed in 1973. Dan Rather presented four of these documents as authentic in a 60 Minutes II broadcast aired by CBS on September 8, 2004, less than two months before the 2004 presidential election, but it was later found that CBS had failed to authenticate them. Several typewriter and typography experts soon concluded that they were forgeries. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Burkett provided the documents to CBS, but he claims to have burned the originals after faxing them copies.

        Anyway, interesting and worthwhile thing to consider.

    • lemmylommy@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      It’s the Russian way. Everyone knows things are shitty but everyone also feels powerless about it. Learned helplessness as a political strategy and the basis for a society.

    • crusa187@lemmy.ml
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      4 days ago

      Pretty good take. I agree they actually are this dumb, but not everyone involved is necessarily, so it’s wise to be aware of alternatives such as what you suggest.

    • Rookwood@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 days ago

      The first part is purely conjecture of their intent. It is irrelevant and unknowable. The facts are they leaked this to a reporter. They should be held accountable based on the facts, not their intent.