Trump dwell updates: Hillary Clinton responds to secret warfare group chat leak – ‘You have got to be kidding me’
President Donald Trump has come under fire after it emerged on Monday that senior officials in his administration, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, reportedly discussed a highly-sensitive operation aimed at targeting Houthi positions in Yemen in a Signal group chat that included Jeffrey Goldberg, the Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic, by mistake.
Asked about the staggering security breach at the White House, Trump denied all knowledge of the story and attacked the publication as “going out of business.”
Hegseth in turn called Goldberg as a “deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist” but is already facing calls to resign from Democrats, who branded the scandal “amateur hour” and “a major screw-up.”
Particularly incensed was former U.S. secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton, whom Trump repeatedly threatened to jail for allegedly using a private email account while in office, who responded by saying simply: “You have got to be kidding me.”
Reaction: ‘You have got to be kidding me,’ says Hillary Clinton
Hegseth is already facing calls to resign from Democrats, who branded the scandal “amateur hour” and “a major screw-up.”
Particularly incensed was former U.S. secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton, whom Trump repeatedly threatened to jail for allegedly using a private email account while in office, who responded by saying simply: “You have got to be kidding me.”
Here’s more from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Eric Swalwell, Pete Buttigieg, Ruben Gallego, Tom Suozzi and Adam Schiff:
The memes are, naturally, flowing thick and fast too.
Here’s more on the social media response from Mary Papenfuss.
Reaction: Atlantic editor brands Defense Secretary ‘unserious person’ over app blunder
Interviewed by MSNBC’s Jen Psaki last night, Jeffrey Goldberg was withering in his contempt for Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz for discussing “life and death issues” in a commercial messaging app, expressing relief that they had not also added a Russian spy to the chat for good measure.
For his part, Hegseth’s strategy was to shoot the messenger.
Top story: Trump administration accused of staggering security breach after journalist included in war planning group chat
Good morning!
The Trump administration has been accused of a stunning breach of security after the editor of The Atlantic was included in a group chat with top officials and cabinet secretaries outlining plans to strike the Houthis in Yemen.
Two days before American warplanes struck targets associated with Iran-backed militants who’d been attacking cargo ships and bottlenecking international trade in key sea lanes, White House National Security adviser Mike Waltz appears to have started a group chat to talk about plans for the airstrikes with key officials.
The former Green Beret turned Florida congressman, who resigned in January to serve as President Donald Trump’s top national security aide, used Signal, a common encrypted messaging app, for a group chat with colleagues on the National Security Council’s “Principals Committee.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe all appeared to be part of the group chat.
Others seemingly included were Trump’s Middle East and Ukraine negotiator, Steve Witkoff, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller.
And somehow, Waltz appears to have added one more person: Jeffrey Goldberg, the veteran journalist who currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic.
In an explosive report, Goldberg reveals how he unwittingly got an inside look at how Trump’s team began outlining their plans to bomb the Houthis in Yemen earlier this month on the encrypted app rather than any manner of official communications channels available to top government officials.
Asked about it at the White House yesterday, President Trump denied all knowledge of the incident after it inspired a torrent of criticism all around him.
Here’s a full report from Gustaf Kilander and Andrew Feinberg.
Appeals court judges skeptical of Trump arguments to deport Venezuelans
A three-judge panel of federal appeals court judges appeared skeptical that Donald Trump’s administration could summarily deport immigrants inside the United States under the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act.
During a hearing in Washington, D.C. Monday, deputy assistant attorney general Drew Ensign called a federal judge’s ruling that temporarily blocks those deportations an “utterly unprecedented” “intrusion” of his authority.
“Well, it’s an unprecedented action, as well,” replied Judge Patricia Millett, who was appointed by Barack Obama. “We are in unprecedented territory.”
Alex Woodward reports.
Voters ‘empty chair’ Republicans who are skipping town halls
Gustaf Kilander reports.
The Columbia River has benefited both U.S. and Canada with little worry… until Trump took office
A river that runs between the U.S. and Canada has now run itself right into the middle of the fight between the two allies.
Katie Hawkinson reports.
Fox News suggests getting rid of due process for immigrants
Several Fox News hosts on Monday morning suggested that immigrants being deported by the Trump administration shouldn’t be afforded due process because it is too cumbersome, saying “it’s not practical” due to the number of migrants in the country.
Justin Baragona has the story.
Trump threatens to tax imports from countries that buy Venezuelan oil
President Donald Trump has threatened to unilaterally impose a 25 percent tax that Americans would have to pay on any imports from foreign countries that permit their domestic industries to make use of Venezuelan oil or gasoline starting next month in addition to any other new import taxes he will be imposing as part of a push to reverse decades of global supply chain integration and free trade efforts.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.
SCOTUS declines Trump ally’s challenge to landmark press freedoms
The Supreme Court will not take up a case from a billionaire real estate developer who called on the court to overturn a landmark ruling that has protected journalists from libel lawsuits for decades.
Donald Trump-supporting Republican megadonor Steve Wynn urged the court to revisit the precedent established by 1964’s New York Times v Sullivan, which determined that public figures must prove “actual malice” from a news organization’s reporting to successfully sue them for defamation.
Alex Woodward has the story.
Attorney general accuses Jasmine Crockett of fomenting ‘insurrection’ against Tesla
Attorney General Pam Bondi called on Texas congresswoman Jasmine Crockett to apologize for recent comments calling for Elon Musk to be “taken down,” claiming the comments are driving violence and “insurrection.”
“She needs to unequivocally denounce the violence,” Bondi said during an interview Monday night on Fox News’s Hannity. “She must apologize immediately, not only to all Texans, but to our country, to the American shareholders of Tesla, because she is promoting violence.”
The comments came as Teslas and facilities tied to the EV brand have faced violence and threats, including in Texas.
Last week, Crockett, a Democrat, said she hoped to see Musk “taken down,” though said moments later she meant that figuratively and asserted that “everything that I am promoting is non-violent.”
More details in our full story.
Source: independent.co.uk
