Letters from an American
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics.
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics.Listen on
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Heather Cox Richardson
Thank you for defending democracy, Heather. Waltz and Hegseth should resign in disgrace, then get thrown in jail with the orange felon and muskrat. Democracy dies in the darkness, but you are a shining light to inspire all of us: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/heather-cox-richardson-letters-history-democracy
Amen public servant
Thank you for such specifics on the state of security given the clowns in the cabinet!
What crimes did Waltz and Hegseth commit? It would take that for them to go to jail, right? You might not like them or their bad judgment or statements, but that doesn't send them to jail. That's not consistent with democracy.
in retrospect, everyone on that chat should have known they were “breaking the rules” by sharing classified information over an unclassified communication method. Then worse, they lied about it. Therefore they should ALL resign.
The Signal chat consisted of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, White House and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
All these were violated:
• Title 44
• The Presidential Act
• The Espionage Act
Not one person in the chat questioned if there should be a more secure way of communicating or a more secure location. Whether they didn’t know or they knew and chose to violate the rules, both are egregious. They were all complicit and should resign immediately.
Amen, Marlo. In addition to being careless and complicit, many are also hypocritical and not-too-bright. How could you have been apoplectic over Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server, yet fail to insist on using proper communication protocols for planning military attacks, naming a CIA operative, etc.?
We should all CALL. Tell those leading this special committee:
The distinction between “classified” information and “national defense information” is critical‼️
The administration spent a lot of time saying that “no classified information” was included in the text chat. That is beside the point and an attempt to mislead.
👉The relevant statutes prohibit the unauthorized sharing of “national defense information.” See, e.g., 18 USC § 793 (f), imposing up to ten years in prison for anyone who
being entrusted with . . . information relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed. . . .
The words “classified information” does not appear in the statute that criminalizes the unauthorized disclosure of “national defense information.”
What is “national defense” information? 18 USC § 793(a) defines it as information that the person possessing the information has
reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation . . . .
Obviously, anyone with advance information about plans to attack Houthi rebels has reason to believe the information—if leaked—could be “used to the injury of the United States” or “to the advantage of any foreign nation.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/lessons-for-democrats-from-signal
All these were violated:
• Title 44
• The Presidential Act
• The Espionage Act
Not one person in the chat questioned if there should be a more secure way of communicating or a more secure location.
The Guardian reports today that the nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight has filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against five Trump administration officials (Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, Bessent and Rubio) for violating the Federal Records Act and Administrative Procedure Act by using a Signal group set to auto-delete to coordinate military strikes on Yemen. The lawsuit also demands the end to the destruction of federal records. So we'll find out soon enough.
From Robert Hubbell’s Substsck newsletter (note: 10 years in prison):
“The administration spent a lot of time saying that “no classified information” was included in the text chat. That is beside the point and an attempt to mislead.
The relevant statutes prohibit the unauthorized sharing of “national defense information.” See, e.g., 18 USC § 793 (f), imposing up to ten years in prison for anyone who
being entrusted with . . . information relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed. . . .
The words “classified information” does not appear in the statute that criminalizes the unauthorized disclosure of “national defense information.”
What is “national defense” information? 18 USC § 793(a) defines it as information that the person possessing the information has
reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation . . . .
Obviously, anyone with advance information about plans to attack Houthi rebels has reason to believe the information—if leaked—could be “used to the injury of the United States” or “to the advantage of any foreign nation.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/lessons-for-democrats-from-signal
Please CALL the Senators snd Representatives. This is serious and sll those on the chat disobeyed the law!
Hilary lost the 2016 elections for less…. If James Comey had balls we would be in this shit show
If McCarthy and McConnell had sided with the bi-partisan Select Committee investigating the insurrection and impeached Trump - he would never have been able to run again. full stop. But they caved and here we are. The speeches that they gave after it happened could have stopped all of this. But fear and cowardice took over.
The epitaph on James Comey's grave should read, "It was because of my asinine actions that created Donald Trump. I now reside in hell and see Donald every day."
Heather, do regular citizens have standing to sue the federal government-- or Elon Milusk personally -- for criminal misuse of our tax dollars?
Good question. I’m thoroughly disgusted.
Listen to every word by HCR! Messages must be archived! Archived! War plans splattered violates law. Against the law! A SCIF is required! Top secret. The most able patriotic Atlantic Editor Goldberg - was included! Yes, included. Criminal leak. Criminally liable. By DEFSEC Pete Hegseth. Was he drunk? Drunk or sober, Trump lying has proven quite contagious. “You have got to be kidding me,” wrote former Secretary of State, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, a presidential candidate, speechless.
Felon 45 needs to be removed. He is supposedly Commander-in=Chief, isn't he? and he didn't "know" (busy playing golf? watching TV? and other possibilities of course).
That's what he said - he didn't know. If he didn't know then who is our Commander in chief? If he did know then he blatently lied to the American people once again, but in this case -- it is serious, mind-f*ingly serious. Impeach him/remove him/remove these people from our government. Trump first, Hegsweth next, and then all the rest. Criminal charges for these people.
WHY wasn’t the “Commander and Chief” included in the meeting? He has the Vice President doing his job?
He probably was golfing or taking a nap
I'm not sure criminal charges could be made against all of them. If you want them out of office, vote them out next time, or impeach them before then if you think that can be done. If the House turns out Democratic in 2027, what do you want to bet they try to impeach Trump?
So we will be able to vote again? Not unless something drastic happens. We have a dictator now.
EVERYONE on that chat is complicit and should be held accountable. Fired at the bare minimum, however prison time is in order per the statute (see below):
An excerpt from Robert Hubbell’s newsletter:
“The lies, disinformation, and slander employed by Trump and the GOP to deflect from the scandal of Signal-Gate
At various points in Tuesday’s news cycle, Trump and his supporters resorted to the following falsehoods (bolded) to distract from the grievous lapse of security in the Signal text chain forwarded to The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg:
• The text chain did not contain “classified information.”
Demonstrably false and semantic gamesmanship. The texts contained non-public, sensitive information that was undeniably “national defense information”—which is the information protected from unauthorized disclosure by statute.
This claim is especially dangerous and short-sighted because it suggests that the information in the texts can and should be disclosed. When the US military is given a chance to weigh in, they will vigorously assert that operational details of a missile strike is highly sensitive national defense information that must be protected at all costs.
• Use of the Signal app was approved or appropriate.
That claim is demonstrably false. DoD policy specifically prohibits use of the Signal app. Indeed, the DoD issued an updated alert on March 18, 2025—only a week ago—warning that users of Signal were “common targets of surveillance and espionage activity [that] has made the [Signal] application a high-value target to intercept sensitive information."
• The Signal app is widely used throughout the administration, including the CIA.
While it may be true that Signal is used throughout the administration, if it is used for government communications, such use is illegal on many levels. It is no defense to the nation’s most senior officers using it to plan a missile strike against the Houthis.
It is critically important to make a distinction between using a Signal on a government phone to communicate about information that does not qualify as national defense information (“I’ll meet you at the Capitol Grill at 6 PM) vs. national defense information (“We will bomb the Houthis tomorrow at 10 AM.) While the former may be permissible, the latter IS NOT. CIA Director John Ratcliffe tried to play fast and loose with that distinction during his testimony, but had to finally admit that classified systems must be used for national defense information.
• The White House Counsel told the participants in the text chain that it was okay to use Signal.
Wait, what? Federal statutes and regulations require the use of classified communications systems to transmit national defense secrets. No lawyer in the White House has the authority to override those statutes and regulations. Indeed, Trump does not have the authority to override the statutes and regulations. (Do not get confused over Trump's power to “declassify” material, which is discussed below.) Trump cannot override federal statutes requiring that national defense information be held confidential.
And again, there is a difference between using Signal for personal communications on a government device versus communicating about national defense information.
• The distinction between “classified” information and “national defense information” is critical.
The administration spent a lot of time saying that “no classified information” was included in the text chat. That is beside the point and an attempt to mislead.
👉The relevant statutes prohibit the unauthorized sharing of “national defense information.” See, e.g., 18 USC § 793 (f), imposing up to ten years in prison for anyone who
being entrusted with . . . information relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed. . . .
The words “classified information” does not appear in the statute that criminalizes the unauthorized disclosure of “national defense information.”
What is “national defense” information? 18 USC § 793(a) defines it as information that the person possessing the information has
reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation . . . .
Obviously, anyone with advance information about plans to attack Houthi rebels has reason to believe the information—if leaked—could be “used to the injury of the United States” or “to the advantage of any foreign nation.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/lessons-for-democrats-from-signal
All these were violated:
• Title 44
• The Presidential Act
• The Espionage Act
Not one person in the chat questioned if there should be a more secure way if communicating or a mire secure location.
What are we gng to do about our country sliding into the shitter
keep calling and pressuring the House Republicans and Senators. All of those people on the chat broke the law. At the very least they should be fired.
I wonder whose idea it was to use Signal in the first place? Russian asset Gabbard? That would make sense!
I wonder how many meetings they used this method of communication?
We’re going to fight like hell, that’s what we’re going to do. Call your congressional delegation and don’t stop until they start representing you
202-224-3121 Gets you to the switchboard.
I'm subscribing to Letters from an American in memory of Lisa Mackinder, one time Assistant Director of Systemwide Licensing and Collection Services. Some years ago she gave me the link to Heater Cox Richardson's posts which I read each day, thankful to Heather Cox Richardson and Lisa who died this month of brain cancer.
Is anybody besides Hegseth and Vance and Co. wondering just who clipped the reporter into the call and how it is they did it? Very interesting. I wonder if the resistance isn't beginning?
It's easier for me to believe that sheer incompetence, on the part of our "leaders", is to blame. Perhaps this is exactly the outcome trump was looking for when he filled his cabinet with unqualified and unscrupulous people.
Perhaps "sheer incompetence," either that or utter deception.
I believe it was Michael Waltz, National Security Advisor that invited Mr. Goldberg
After Trump lied and said it was a member of Waltz's staff, Waltz came clean and claimed full responsibility for adding Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat.
Interesting point. And to wonder why The Atlantic specifically.
Waltz says that he accidentally included Goldberg, mistaking him for somebody else. Who? That Russian waif he met at church last Sunday, hmmm? Who? Who else is invited to such chats?
Trying to " set up" Goldberg, since the administration can't stand him, or his publication. Have to wonder that linking him in was no "mistake."
Yes, a set up is possible. But then again anything is possible for these people. I don’t really see them with the skill to engineer a crackdown on the press with this but who knows? My own feeling is that the Trump people in general are meaning to stir up a kerfuffle that gets a high-profile person such as a journalist murdered by a Trump loyalist, which they piously disavow but which of course is meant pour encourager les autres. They haven’t done that yet, but it’s coming and they may be hoping this does the deed…
Why would we assume the behavior of the unqualified and inexperienced heads of Trump's hand selected department heads be any more professional than the convicted felon who made the selections. Lest we should forget, this also represents an abject failure of the vetting and Congressional approvals shoved through the process to placate the pathologically vindictive POTUS.
Well said.
If any of these new government officials had an iota of integrity, they would resign in disgrace and accept their demerit gracefully. All have violated the national trust and betrayed their oaths of office. Shame and disgrace on each of you personally and professionally. Yet who of these will hear this let alone defer to it?
Well, that's not going to happen, because we know that they have no integrity, no morals, no empathy, no scruples and obviously no working brain cells.
What a circus act! These clowns all need to be reprimanded, or perhaps fired.
Dr. Strangelove, move over.
Thank you for your unwavering work! Nothing is going to come of this! We are so OPSEC screwed.
We must keep this story active and loud until those who participated are forced to resign and then prosecuted. Keep reminding everyone of this in any way you can through your social media.
Also please contact your senators about voting no for the Las test appointee for overseeing SS. He is yet another disaster and will do irreparable harm that will impact millions of Americans, myself included. It must be protected.
We’re afraid of being robbed of all we’ve worked for by this administration. We’re afraid of being mugged by desperate people. Two postal workers I know of were robbed at gunpoint recently. We’re afraid for ourselves and others; family, friends, neighbors. What’s to become of us if he’s not stopped?
Watching Tulsi Gabbard tap dance to keep from admitting she was on the group text. She was more than a bit defensive...probably realizing she is in way over her head.
Thank you for sharing more details than I knew, Heather. Your audio reports are especially valuable and helpful.
Agreed!
Answers & accountability NOW. Do we have ANY adults in the room?
No, only crooks and thieves
"Lock him up"... Oh, Trump's criminal activity before he became President the second time was aborted the Supreme Court. I never really understood exactly why, but I think it had something to do with his being President the first time. Of course, Trump, in his second Presidency knew nothing about what his new hires were doing. I guess they didn't either.
What a "dog & pony show"... beyond belief!!
The Commander in Chief knew nothing about it. Given his state of mind and penchant for cruelty and anger and violence, I worry about the larger scale munitions he has in his briefcase.
Thanks for all your important communication. Any chance you could engage one of your grad students in providing very brief snapshots of current events in the context of history for student ages 10 to 18. They are being brainwashed. For example: a snapshot about Goldberg as a hero.
I don't see how Goldberg is a hero. The story fell into his lap. He did at least keep the military details to himself, but I'm not sure it is helpful to let Europe know how some of our leaders hold it in disdain.
We need individuals who step up without worrying about retaliation. Any man or women who steps with integrity and commitment to our democracy will be among my hero’s.
Amazing commentary and quotes. Thank you for more straightforward reporting. This will make your blood boil, though, with the deep levels of hypocrisy continuing with this administration. Time to turn the tables, investigate, and prosecute as necessary.
It’s purposeful.
Your military surely has enough to get search warrants and round them all up for the sake of NS.
To say our National Security team is a "gang that couldn't shoot straight" would be too kind and an immense understatement. I spent over 40 years with a Top Secret Special Compartmented Information clearance and was Chief of Plans in South Korea when we wrote the Campaign Plan many years ago. Had I, or any of my subordinates been guilty of of such a very serious breach in national security we would have faced court marital . As a former commander it is not difficult to imagine how the US Naval officers on the carrier that launched the attacks described so well be Pete Hegseth felt when he heard that his pilots had been compromised before their dangerous mission. Thank goodness we did not lose any of our brave aviators. If I were in the intelligence community I would be deeply concerned that the unsecured texts revealed the exact damages done to targets, including a Houthi leader. This exposed either our human intelligence sources on the ground in Yemen or the degree to which our Imagery Intelligence is able to track the Houthi leadership. Either way, this was a serious breach of security. I can only imagine the furor the MAGAT Republicans would have made if such a sloppy, unprofessional event had occurred in the Biden or any other Democratic administration. No surprise, this dishonorable cowardly pols are doing nothing to demand accountability. Such breaches will happen again. The Gang that couldn't shoot straight cannot help but repeat such a serious act. Please excuse any typos as I am losing my vision
First, I cannot thank you enough for work, your clarity, and your courage. Second, having long marveled that nothing this crew does seems to deter their voters from their blind loyalty, I pray that maybe, finally, they, and the Congress they elected, will wake up, snap out of their daze, and begin to address the clear and present danger they have put themselves and us in.
OMG, Of all the stupidity. It's like they hit "reply all" and never looked again.
Thank you for facts and history.
Hegseth mocked Jeffrey Goldberg’s reputation?!? I’m pretty sure most people would prefer their reputations to be like Goldberg’s, and would be horrified to have a reputation like Hegseth’s.
Amateur hour...the person most concerned about national security and the safety of our troops was the one person not supposed to be there. He acted very responsibly.
Specifically in what way can criminal charges be brought against the people who engaged in these acts? And/or other charges ( national security breaches, etc. ) ?
And who best to do this?
Hoping for meaningful answers from you ( or any tenured legal minds out there who understand the nuances of how to most effectively deal with these people who have put our national security/armed forces at extreme risk ? )
Thank you!
Pamela MacCaughey
335171
Damn there dumb using an open source platform for this? careless and arrogance hand in hand. What would Hillary say?.
HOW WE GOT TRUMP 2.0
CORPORATE COMMUNIST BUSINESS PLAN (It’s not a conspiracy, it is a business plan.)
“Corporate Communism”: when brain dead corporations own the means of communication and the production of false information via the privatization of Big Brother.
A Note on Conspiracy Theory: A popular belief among life’s victims (conservavictims and libtards) is that they are not to blame for their lack of success because “those forces” such as space aliens, frequently with lasers, immigrants and beings with mystic power, e.g. The Illuminati are aligned against them, and “those people” (usually ethnic and or religious groups) all sticking together to subvert their pure patriotic programs.
A note on Free Speech Absolutism: Free speech is absolutely protected from the government. That’s it, full stop. It definitely does not mean everybody has the right to have their words and speech published, streamed, broadcast, sculpted, painted or sent via smoke signals.
The Corporate Communist Business Plan Privatizing Big Brother:
Neuter The Free Press Aka the Fourth Estate and free speech while maintaining the fantasy of freedom (Free Speech Absolutist) through bogus litigation, denial of access, and ownership of the means of communication. “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one". A. J. Liebling
Neuter Citizen Voting (Citizens United: corporations are people) an armed guard at poling places to demand “your papers please” to prevent non-proven voter fraud.
Ongoing degradation and subjugation of women via BFFI (BruteForceFuckingIgnorance) and tax-free religion. G$D created man and woman in their own image but no one has ever seen him/her yet almost always has a beard. Hell, even Satan has a beard.
Cutting Education Funding (eliminate critical thinking and awareness of facts about tiny hands).
Elimination of Classic Capitalism Free Market Competition via Anti-Customer Service (“Your call is very important to us and the robot will be right with you”), tax funded bailouts. Consolidation of industries to eliminate effective competition. (The anti-capitalist mentality).
Denying that personal information: medical, financial e.g. credit scores, accident, dating, social, religious is actually individual private property like homes, stamp collections, cars, shoes, underwear. The theft of private property is frequently self-inflicted but with free shipping and rewards by uploading your life to Big Brother social media. Let’s not forget DOGE: since there is no controls or oversight, possibly much Musk stolen data will wind up as an Xfile without rewards or free shipping.
Indentured Servitude (Employee responsible for their pension and medical insurance).
Neuter Government Oversight of the economy (Chevron Doctrine), DOGE. and e.g. elimination of the CFPB Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Permanent Financial Crisis and business bailouts.
Tax Free Theocracy.
Full Unemployment via “The Singularity aka Homo AI”
Joewightman.substack.com
Ok so please tell me all charges possible are forthcoming…
Let’s remember the part that most GOP Senators played in this fiasco when they voted to consent when constituents were begging them not to.
They are all dummies that are just unqualified people that fawn over Trump. That is how they got the job. Competence is not important.
I predict subscriptions to Signal will skyrocket. Who knows when you could be invited to a top security chat? 😂
The recent U.S. attack on Houthis revealed to the public a security breach of unparalleled proportions. The breach identified a rogue, unprincipled element of senior U.S. leadership. This group knowingly and unlawfully violated OPSEC rules and U.S. Espionage Act laws. The group discussed on a commercial communications app an imminent top secret aerial attack on an enemy in the Arabia Gulf.
The commercial app Signal’s communications by the law-breaking group extended across the U.S. and internationally. The group included one operative that was in Moscow where open communications are collected and analyzed.
The meeting was set up and attendees invited on the commercial Signal app by our National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. The NSA is the most senior of our intelligent officers. This is not “setting an example”. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz assumed "full responsibility" for the leaked Signal group chat of senior Trump officials. "I take full responsibility. I built the group," Waltz said on "The Ingraham Angle" Tuesday. "It's embarrassing. We're going to get to the bottom of it." Get to the bottom of it? What is that supposed to mean? You already hit rock bottom. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a participant in the group chat, has not yet hit rock bottom. He denies the obvious breach. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/cabal-signals-classified-conflict?r=3m1bs
Thank you so much for your postings! I agree with so many of the comments posted here. Several should resign if not prosecuted. I served in the USAF back in the 80s. if a military top official had done anything like this, they probably would’ve been court-martial!! Their incompetence and negligence is unbelievable and disgusting. Before this was posted, I was worrying enough just about the things that have already happened since Trump has been in office. After the Air Force, I was a civil servant for several years. I still have friends with government jobs. One works for NCIS.. thank you for your writings and postings every day.