The Signal is Flashing Red

No gaslighting this time

The worst screw-up in American intelligence history—deliberate use of a non-secure Signal channel, resulting in transmission of war plans to a reporter—will test Democrats’ ability to lead and defend functional government.

Jeffrey Goldberg’s amazing scoop pulls back the curtain on the arrogance, contempt, and recklessness that permeates everything the Musk-Trump regime does, from DOGE cuts (e.g., firing then trying to rehire people charged with maintaining our nuclear arsenal) to economically illiterate economic policy (e.g., tariffs) to the dismissal of incontrovertible science (e.g., climate change, vaccinations) to buffoonish foreign policy (e.g., threatening Greenland).

It is noteworthy that no one on the Signal chat thought to question its use, and that President in Name Only (PINO) Donald Trump—who declared Hillary Clinton unfit for office for a far less severe infraction of email protocol—would seek to minimize such an indiscretion. (“Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man,” Trump insisted.) How many chances does he get? What about every other participant on the thread?

To make matters worse, “President Trump's Ukraine and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when he was included in a group chat,” CBS reported. Given that all U.S. officials are routinely warned about the potential for hacking when in Russia, this is a particularly egregious failure to abide by rudimentary security procedures.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s pathetic effort to deny what was already public—the group’s use of an insecure platform to transmit war plans—suggests Trump’s incompetent hires (who we long ago realized were the worst DEI candidates in history) do not get it. It’s not surprising that a Fox News host looks at the worst intelligence lapse in recent memory as nothing more than a story to be spun. Moreover, Hegseth and other officials’ insistence that nothing classified was communicated is ludicrous. Must Goldberg release the contents of the war plans to prove them wrong?

Despite the feeble attempts to gaslight the American people, the extent of this debacle cannot be minimized, even as the dimensions of it are not even known. How many discussions like this have taken place over Signal? Who else, if anyone, was inadvertently included? Did any foreign power or malicious actor obtain the classified material that was disclosed? These are only a few of the troubling questions yet to be answered.

At the previously scheduled Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday, ranking member Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) blasted the Trump crew for their “sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior” and “cavalier attitude toward classified information”. As the New York Times reported, Senator Michael Bennett (D-Col.) echoed the sentiment: “This sloppiness, this disrespect for our intelligence agencies is entirely unacceptable. You need to do better.”

Better yet, the whole lot of them should not be given a second chance.

Multiple Democrats came forward with furious statements and demands to investigate. But investigate what, and to what end? The issue is not a single conversation, let alone the single participant (Mike Waltz), whom Trump chose to defend on the call. The administration’s lack of fundamental competence and basic care in handling our most closely held secret can no longer be denied. (And what should we expect when their boss transported classified materials to Mar-a-Lago and stashed them in a bathroom?) A few Democrats, including Senator Warner and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Il.) called on those involved to resign.

The Senate Intelligence Committee, which in the recent past has operated on a bipartisan basis (even under Signal participant, Secretary of State, and then-Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s chairmanship), needs to do a top-to-bottom review of the way the administration has communicated and handled classified material from Day One. It obviously cannot be trusted to investigate itself, not after trying to downplay such gross misconduct. If the Trump toadies refuse to cooperate, Democrats should attempt to subpoena materials. If that fails, an impeachment inquiry should be filed (even if ultimately impossible in a MAGA-controlled Congress). Let Republicans vote to defend these reckless, dangerous characters.

Moreover, the key Republican Senators whose votes were essential to confirmation need to be called out specifically. How in the world could Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) have supported Hegseth? How could they, as well as Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), have supported Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence? They are all responsible for the foreseeable disasters these unqualified nominees unleash.

Beyond that, every attempt to conceal information from judges, the press, and the public on grounds of national security should be met with demands to fully investigate how the material was handled. It is simply not plausible that, for example, Justice Department lawyers can claim the power to refuse to share material on camera with the judge to determine if they have a national security defense on the unprecedented deportation of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act. Such excuses are laughable now that every foreign power in the knows how Trump’s buffoons handle our most sensitive secrets.

As for Democrats, it is not enough to call for “investigations.” They must demonstrate, with a proper degree of transparent rage, the extent to which these Keystone Kops have endangered national security. Put qualified, articulate members with national security backgrounds (e.g., Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Colorado Rep. Jason Crow, Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss) out for daily briefings and press appearances. Most of all, pledge not to relent until there is full accountability and the full extent of the crisis is understood (leaving open the possibility of impeachment).

Democrats not only have an opportunity but a responsibility to go full throttle. The MAGA clowns have proven themselves unfit and dangerous. Accountability at the ballot box, in courts of law, on the Hill, and in the court of public opinion must ensue.