The White House is under fire after top Trump administration officials discussed military plans in a Signal chat that included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic , according to the original report. The president has refused to admit any wrongdoing and instead launched a coordinated campaign to discredit the magazine, deny the allegations, and move on without punishment. The leak came from a private Signal thread that included National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Goldberg was accidentally added to the group, where classified or near-classified attack details were discussed. The president expressed frustration in private, but publicly decided to fight back by calling the story a smear and refusing to fire anyone involved. Trump attacks the press and closes ranks around inner circle Speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said, “It’s all a witch hunt. There was no harm done because the attack was unbelievably successful. And that’s the thing that you should be talking about.” He made no mention of any consequences for those who exposed sensitive planning in a non-government channel. The chat was launched by Waltz, who admitted to creating the group and acknowledged that Goldberg’s inclusion was a mistake. Still, the White House hasn’t explained how Goldberg was added or why national security information was being discussed in an app not designed for classified communication. Despite the confusion, Trump opted to keep Waltz in his position, with officials saying he views the scandal as a manageable setback. Rubio, who was also in the Signal group, expressed clear frustration with the situation. A person familiar with his thinking said he was angry that such sensitive information was discussed over Signal. In a public statement to reporters, Rubio said, “Someone made a big mistake” by adding Goldberg to the chat, but claimed he personally did not share anything classified. The administration has tried to control the narrative by going after the language used in The Atlantic’s reporting. The magazine’s first story on Monday said Hegseth had shared “war plans.” In a follow-up on Wednesday, the wording changed to “attack plans.” That gave officials a line of defense, accusing the press of exaggerating or mislabeling what happened. Goldberg responded in an interview with MSNBC, saying the administration was playing a “semantic game.” The Atlantic decided to publish the full Signal messages after the White House claimed nothing in them was classified. That claim has been disputed by former generals, ex-defense secretaries, and national security experts, who say the content should never have been discussed in such an unsecured setting. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt faced tough questions on Wednesday and told reporters the exchange was “a sensitive policy discussion,” not a leak of classified intelligence. She also said Trump continues to have “great trust” in the people who handle national security. Internal blame spreads while DOJ stays silent The National Security Council announced Tuesday it is reviewing the matter, but no deeper investigation is underway. In past years, something like this would’ve led to a full criminal review by the Justice Department’s national security division and the FBI, but so far neither agency is involved. No one in the administration has been charged, removed, or reprimanded. On Wednesday, Hegseth posted on social media, writing, “We will continue to do our job, while the media does what it does best: peddle hoaxes.” That word—hoax—is one Trump has used for nearly every controversy tied to his name, from the Russia investigation to both impeachment trials. Hegseth, who was previously a Fox News personality, is the same person who shared sensitive strike details in the group chat. He used a similar approach to defend himself during his confirmation hearings, denying allegations of sexual assault and heavy drinking, which critics brought up due to his lack of defense experience. He called the claims “anonymous smears,” and Trump stood by him, ignoring pressure to withdraw the nomination. Even now, despite the leak, Trump isn’t holding Hegseth responsible. “Hegseth is doing a great job,” he told reporters on Wednesday. Inside the White House, the blame game is on. Officials are pointing fingers at a low-level staffer who allegedly created the Signal group. That staffer hasn’t been identified. Waltz, however, took the blame publicly and said the mistake was his. Despite Waltz taking responsibility, he has not given clear answers about how Goldberg was invited, and the White House hasn’t filled any of the blanks either. That lack of detail has only made things worse. Instead of solving the problem, the administration seems to be hoping the story goes away. Chris Meagher, a Pentagon spokesman under the Biden administration, said, “The Trump administration is very good at taking a situation that is messy for them and making it even messier.” He criticized the current team for using unsecured channels to discuss military attacks. Pushback grows inside GOP and from Trump allies Republicans close to Trump are starting to speak out. Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican who has backed Trump for years, dismissed Hegseth’s use of the word hoax. “Like, what’s the hoax?” Cramer asked. “Own it. It happened. And say it’ll never happen again. It’s an inappropriate platform for discussing highly sensitive information.” Outside of politics, the pressure is coming from loyalists too. Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports and a vocal Trump supporter, said, “Somebody has to go down for this.” He called for accountability, even though the administration has not fired or suspended anyone connected to the incident. While the fallout continued, Trump tried to pivot. On Wednesday afternoon, the White House quickly added a new event to his schedule. At that event, Trump announced a 25% tariff on all global auto imports coming into the U.S. The move had nothing to do with national security or Signal or Goldberg. It was a sharp change of subject. Still, the Signal story isn’t going away. All the facts are out—war plans discussed in a chat with a journalist, no firings, no punishment, and no clear explanation. And yet Trump continues to act like it never happened, sticking to the same strategy he’s used for decades: deny everything, attack the press, and move on. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot
