Michael Abrahams | Signalgate: A masterclass in denial, deflection and hypocrisy

“The Trump Administration accidentally texted me its war plans.” That was the title of an article written by Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, published in that magazine on March 24.

Goldberg said he received a connection request on Tuesday, March 11, from a user on the messaging app Signal, identified as US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and accepted it. Two days later, without being vetted, he was added to a group chat called “Houthi PC small group” consisting of 18 members, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant.

Over the course of the following days, Goldberg claimed he was exposed to “operational military information,” including discussions about planned military strikes on Yemen targeting Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Such an act constitutes a significant security breach. How did the officials involved respond? They did so with denial, deflection, gaslighting, arrogance and hypocrisy.

They denied the incident took place. Hegseth bluntly told reporters, “Nobody’s texting war plans”. They downplayed its significance. Republican Senator Josh Hawley said, “I fail to see what the big deal is,” and when Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff asked the CIA director if it was a huge mistake, he said, “No.” They attacked the journalist. President Donald Trump called Goldberg a “total sleazebag”, Hegseth characterised him as “a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist”, and Waltz dismissed him as a “loser”. They also attacked and dismissed journalists who asked pertinent questions. When British Sky News reporter Martha Kelner attempted to ask House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene a question about the issue, she interrupted her, saying, “We don’t give a crap about your opinion and your reporting. Why don’t you go back to your country where you have a major migrant problem?”

RIDICULOUS EXPLANATIONS

They gave ridiculous explanations. When asked by Laura Ingraham on Fox News how Goldberg was added to the chat, Waltz said, “If you have somebody else’s contact and then it, somehow, it gets sucked in.” Interestingly, Waltz told reporters, in the presence of Trump, he has “never met” and “never communicated with” Goldberg. However, a photograph from 2021 shows them standing together at the launch of French filmmaker Bernard-Henri Lévy’s book and documentary The will to see.

After days of denial, deflecting and attacking Goldberg, on March 26, he and fellow journalist Shane Harris published the entire chat sequence in an article in The Atlantic titled “Here are the attack plans that Trump’s advisers shared on Signal.” The story revealed screenshots of the entire chat, with the exception of the name of a CIA officer who participated. The thread shows where Hegseth texted a detailed timeline of the impending attack, including which planes would be used, what time they and drones would be launched, and the types of missiles being used, in addition to details on how the attack was going in real-time. At one point Hegseth texted “We are currently clean on OPSEC”, meaning operational security: while an outsider was on the unsecured chat.

Trump described the situation as “the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one.” But it is. There are multiple concerns. Firstly, Signal should not be used to discuss such sensitive information. The app had been prohibited on government devices under the Biden administration, and a memo issued by the Pentagon in 2023 warned of using it for any non-public official information. Such carelessness had the potential to place the lives of military personnel involved in the mission in jeopardy, as had the timeline been available to Houthi fighters when it was made available to Goldberg, it could have endangered the lives of the air crews taking part in the raid, as the Houthis possess anti-aircraft artillery.

The hypocrisy and lack of accountability are also concerning. In 2016, Hegseth had blasted Hilary Clinton, then secretary of state, for using a private email server, calling her “reckless” and stating that her actions were worthy of “criminal prosecution.” Trump said her actions put “the safety of the American people under threat.” But when asked if Waltz should apologize for the group chat fiasco, Trump said,” I don’t think he should apologize. I think he’s doing his best. It’s equipment and technology that’s not perfect.”

COMPETENCE AND PROFESSIONALISM

Questions of competence and professionalism also arise. On its website. the US Department of Defense states, “The secretary of defence oversees the Defense Department and acts as the principal defence policy maker and advisor.” Indeed, his position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the president.

But how qualified is Hegseth for the job? Unlike the previous secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, who held several commander posts, was vice chief of staff of the army, was awarded the Silver Star and five Defense Distinguished Service medals and was a four-star general, Hegseth was a National Guard infantry officer, earned two Bronze star medals and was a Fox News weekend host. Also, according to an article in the New Yorker, he was “forced out of previous leadership positions for financial mismanagement, sexist behaviour and being repeatedly intoxicated on the job.” It was also revealed that Hegseth brought his wife to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is now calling for an investigation. Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called for an expedited inspector general’s report. However, that may be an arduous task, as days after Trump was sworn in, he fired multiple IGs across multiple agencies, including the Defense Department.

Have they accepted the error of their ways? That remains to be seen. When Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy was asked on Fox and Friends, “Are they ever going to use Signal again for something like this?”, his response was, “It seems like yes they will.”

Michael Abrahams is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, social commentator, and human-rights advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or follow him on X , formerly Twitter, @mikeyabrahams.