America's New Soap Opera: The Bold and the Bureaucrats...
... or perhaps "Days of Our Lies"... or maybe "As the Capitol Turns"...
Okay, I couldn’t take it and I went ahead and got a free trial to the Atlantic so I could read the new story in full. It’s titled “Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal.”
I haven’t even gotten to the actual chat messages because the opening itself is so interesting…
The authors Jeff Goldberg and Shane Harris explain the rationale leading to publishing more of the chat: “The statements by Hegseth, Gabbard, Ratcliffe, and Trump—combined with the assertions made by numerous administration officials that we are lying about the content of the Signal texts—have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions. There is a clear public interest in disclosing the sort of information that Trump advisers included in nonsecure communications channels, especially because senior administration figures are attempting to downplay the significance of the messages that were shared.”
Goldberg and Harris explain that they notified the White House of their plans: “Late yesterday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emailed a response: ‘As we have repeatedly stated, there was no classified information transmitted in the group chat. However, as the CIA Director and National Security Advisor have both expressed today, that does not mean we encourage the release of the conversation. This was intended to be a an [sic] internal and private deliberation amongst high-level senior staff and sensitive information was discussed. So for those reason [sic] — yes, we object to the release.’ (The Leavitt statement did not address which elements of the texts the White House considered sensitive, or how, more than a week after the initial air strikes, their publication could have bearing on national security.)”
Kinda hard to argue with receipts though:
The stupidity of all this really can't be overstated. There's simply NO WAY this wasn't classified information. Think of ALL THE THINGS the military would want to keep secret… does advance notice of an attack sound like something the secretary of defense should be texting about? Frankly, it's insulting they even tried this argument, and it was so remarkably predictable that he'd release it after the administration basically just lied about it all.
It just passed 8am and the news is coming in FAST:
I’m on the New York Times live updates, and these updates have all come in the last two hours:
Julian E. Barnes: “Newly disclosed messages from the chat suggest that Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, may have mischaracterized a critical part of the exchange in her appearance before the Senate yesterday. Senator Martin Heinrich, Democrat of New Mexico, asked Gabbard: ‘Precise operational issues were not part of this conversation?’ She responded: ‘Correct.’ Given the launch times that the defense secretary shared in the chat, House Democrats will undoubtedly press her on this today.”
Julian also notes: “Unlike the defense secretary, who offered precise details of launch times, Ratcliffe sanitized his information.”
Senator Mark Kelly, D-AZ: “For the safety of our servicemembers and our country, Secretary Hegseth needs to resign.”
The New York Times is currently demonstrating the value of a highly-resourced newsroom: Helene Cooper points out “Along with the chat transcript, The Atlantic published screen grabs of the list of people on the chat, including Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, and Dan Katz, the Treasury chief of staff. But what is truly notable is who is not included: Adm. Christopher Grady, the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the senior military advisor to the president and the defense secretary. It is unheard of that the Pentagon’s highest-ranking officer would not be included in a senior meeting on a military operation.”
Senator Andy Kim, D-NJ: “As someone who worked in the Situation Room before, I cannot believe Hegseth would recklessly text info that could put a target on our pilots and service members… He needs to resign.”
I am laughing my ass off right now, because AS THIS IS ALL HAPPENING, I kid you not, The House Intelligence Committee has begun a second day of hearings with Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe. I’d bet all my money they’re PISSED about the timing of this.
Representative Jim Jimes, D-CT: “It’s by the awesome grace of God that we are not mourning dead pilots right now.”
Again from Julian E. Barnes: “John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, said the newly released portions of the chat show that he did not share classified information there. ‘My answers haven’t changed,’ he said. ‘I used an appropriate channel to communicate sensitive information. It was permissible to do so. I didn’t transfer any classified information.’
‘In the intelligence hearing, Representative Joaquin Castro, Democrat of Texas, took issue with the intelligence officials saying the information in the Signal chat on the Houthi strikes was not classified. ‘You all know that’s a lie,’ he said. ‘It’s a lie to the country.’”
DAMN RIGHT, WELL DONE JOAQUIN
8:32AM now: I find myself absolutely amazed at the doubling down on attacks by the Trump administration. Rather than simply owning their mistake, which is so obviously egregious and ridiculous to defend, they’ve seemingly decided to argue semantics and specifics to discredit the Atlantic.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on X: “The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans.’ This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich on X: “The Atlantic has already abandoned their bullshit ‘war plans’ narrative, and in releasing the full chat, they concede they LIED to perpetuate yet ANOTHER hoax on the American people. What scumbags!”
Vice President JD Vance on X: “It’s very clear Goldberg oversold what he had. But one thing in particular really stands out. Remember when he was attacking Ratcliffe for blowing the cover for a CIA agent? Turns out Ratcliffe was simply naming his chief of staff.”
I’m on the Reuters Live Updates now:
Tulsi Gabbard in her opening statement: “...The conversation was candid and sensitive, but as the President (and) National Security Advisor stated, no classified information was shared.”
Kash Patel, the FBI Director: “One, I was not on that Signal chat. Two, I have not reviewed it.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune: "Here again, you get into definitions. I think the important thing here is, these guys, they made a mistake. They know it. They should own it and fix it so that it never happens again."
I wonder if he’s mentioned that to the executive branch because they have NOT taken that approach
Un-fucking-believable: Mike Waltz just posted… “No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.” And then Pete Hegseth reposted that bullshit.
I’m gonna share this one in its’ entirety because I want to point something out:
At what point do We The People get to simply and bluntly ask our government officials “Are you just stupid?”
Democrats AND Republicans are so damn guilty of this dude… We're not discussing the events of years past; everything being discussed has happened in the last 16 days, and the cop-out of “I can’t recall” just falls so flat here. The attack took place on March 15th; if Tulsi Gabbard, the United States Director of Intelligence, can’t recall what country she was in ELEVEN DAYS AGO, perhaps she lacks the basic requirements of a job at this caliber.
And, the man of the hour, folks! The United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth:
This all reads like a soap opera, and surely there’ll be plenty of humor and dank memes emerging from the gamut of stupidity being displayed by our nation’s top officials, but it would be a lie to suggest there’s nothing to worry about here.
Can you imagine what they'd be saying if this had happened in the Biden administration?
Yes, good summary. You indeed should be worried about your country. I heard the first disclosure on PBS News Hour in an inteview with a very controlled and careful Jeffery Goldberg, a respected and informed journalist and anchor of a Tv program of the Atlantic that I watch regularly. After those denials and lies from those on the chat, I wouldn't feel any longer hesitant to release the whole chat, since there was"no classified information on the chat." A responsible journalist still keeps his standards for the sake of the military.