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.”
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.”
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."
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.
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?
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.”
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.
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?
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.
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.
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 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?
I believe it was Michael Waltz, National Security Advisor that invited Mr. Goldberg
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.
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!