The Signalgate in the Noise

Trump officials risked lives, betrayed national security, and lied about it - but why?

Signalgate dominated the headlines last week after shocking revelations that Trump’s most senior national security officials leaked classified information about an impending military operation in a group text using the unsecure phone app - Signal. The egregious violation from numerous cabinet officials was made worse by inviting The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffery Goldberg to this group text.

But the issue isn’t whether the information was or was not classified (It was).

The issue isn’t how a reporter was invited to join a sensitive policy and classified operational discussion among Trump’s national security team (He was invited by Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who clearly had this reporter’s contact information in his phone despite his lies to the public).

The issue is WHY was this discussion happening on Signal to begin with?

There’s a Room for That

Yes, I’m a former intelligence officer who knows a thing or two about classified information but I also served as Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council (NSC) under Presidents Obama (and Trump), where I helped organize and drive decision-making on strategy, policy, and operations—much like the Yemen operation at the heart of Signalgate.

January 2017 National Security Council/Homeland Security Council meeting in White House Situation Room. Photo: Pete Souza. Source: Obama Presidential Library.

As you can see in the photo above - there is an entire complex within the White House for the President and their senior national security team to conduct classified and highly sensitive discussions.

It’s called the Situation Room.

In addition to secure facilities, it also provides a robust secure communications infrastructure that allows the President and senior officials to participate in highly classified discussions — even when they are traveling.

There are different levels of official meetings and discussions, with full “National Security Council” meetings involving the President and one-step down “Principals Committee” meetings involving Cabinet members, Agency and Department heads relevant to the decision without the President.

Signalgate involved an official meeting of these same Principals. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz even named the Signal chat “Houthi PC Small Group.” That PC stands for Principals Committee.

The participants in the chat were:

• National Security Advisor Mike Waltz

• Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth

• Vice President JD Vance

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio

• Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard

• CIA Director John Ratcliffe

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

• US Special Envoy Steve Wikoff

• White House chief of staff Susie Wiles

• Deputy national security adviser Alex Wong

• Trump Advisor Stephen Miller

• and other NSC officials

So it begs the question WHY did they not use the White House Situation Room and the secure telecommunications provided to each of these senior national security officials — especially for an official Principals Committee?

Why were they using an unsecure messaging app, many on their personal cell phones — the same phones that aren’t even allowed in the White House Situation Room — to conduct official classified discussions and planning for military operations?

The answer gets to the heart of the controversy and suggests something more nefarious — and likely criminal — than simply negligence or incompetence.

Breaking the Law

Following President Nixon’s attempt to destroy records tied to Watergate, Congress passed the Presidential Records Act (PRA) in 1978, which establishes that all Presidential records regarding official duties are owned by the American people and requires their preservation. The PRA established accountability and transparency to help prevent gross abuses of power and criminal activity in the White House.

The law applies to the Executive Office of the President, including the NSC, and requires preservation of all information regardless of format or electronic medium.

All transcripts, notes, call logs, participant lists, meeting minutes, and memorandum would have been recorded and preserved by the NSC and the White House Situation Room in an authorized and secure manner.

But instead of using the Situation Room and preserving the record, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz organized an official Principals Committee to discuss classified war planning via a Signal chat—with settings to auto-delete the messages.

This wasn’t just careless. It was calculated. It was designed to evade the law.

It’s Nixon destroying tapes all over again.

This wasn’t a one off. We only know about the “Houti PC Small Group” chat because Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally included in it and had the wherewithal to take screenshots of it. New reporting indicates that Trump’s national security team have set up at least 20 other Signal group chats where classified information was likely leaked.

While the Supreme Court may have granted the President some immunity from criminal liability for official actions, that immunity does not extend to the rest of their team. There are serious consequences for the unlawful removal, concealment, or destruction of Presidential records:

“Anyone found guilty of "willfully and unlawfully" concealing, removing, mutilating, obliterating, destroying, or attempting to do any such action against a record can be fined and imprisoned for up to three years.”

Numerous court cases have been brought forward to force the White House to preserve these records, but it is feared that the auto-deleted messages in Signal cannot be restored or preserved.

The Threat to National Security

Just because Signal has end-to-end encryption and an auto-delete function, doesn’t mean that it’s contents cannot be compromised.

Last month, I received a notice from the CIA alumni office warning about a hacking threat to the Signal app.

“for those using the Signal Messenger application please be advised that cyber criminals are adding malicious QR codes in Signal chats to prompt users to scan the code. If scanned, the unwitting user gives the hacker full access to their Signal account.”

The National Security Agency also warned national security officials of the specific hacking vulnerabilities to Signal app earlier this year.

The bulletin warned of Russian professional hacking groups employing phishing scams such as having them click on a link or QR code to gain access to encrypted conversations.

And I don’t care if he’s the National Security Advisor, the guy who “accidentally” invited a reporter to join a signal chat is the exact person I’m most worried about clicking a link that gives the Chinese or Russians access to all their chats.

This is more than “loose lips sink ships,” this is a criminally negligent breach of classified information and war planning involving the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the CIA, The Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Advisor — all putting troops at risk.

America is not safe.

And our allies are losing trust that we can protect classified secrets and are now reluctant to share vital intelligence with us.

Lies, Hypocrisy, and Cover-Up

The crimes committed by Trump’s National Security team are pretty bad.

But the cover-up is just as bad.

Waltz lied to the press claiming to have never met Jeffrey Goldberg and tried to somehow shift blame to the reporter who Waltz himself invited into the group chat.

Hegseth stepped in front of cameras and aggressively denied that shared classified information or military attack plans despite screenshots of him clearly sharing classified military attack plans. Oh and don’t forget the emojis: 👊🇺🇸🔥.

Gabbard and Ratcliffe lied repeatedly while under oath in front of Congress about the contents of the Signal group chat.

The White House has also denied any wrong doing and attempted to move on from the incident saying the case is closed and they are moving forward, without any accountability.

The level of hypocrisy is enough to choke on. This administration is in the midst of firing thousands of dedicated public servants across our defense and national security agencies while shielding senior officials who actively endangered American lives.

If I or any of my colleagues had done what Waltz and Hegseth had done, we would have been fired and prosecuted.

For a guy who rode into office demanding accountability for “her emails” — Trump is now choosing to stand behind criminals who jeopardize the safety and security of our troops and every American.

Fire. Resign. Impeach.

In 2017, Trump fired his first national security advisor, disgraced retired general Mike Flynn, three weeks into his administration for lying to the Vice President and the FBI about unauthorized communication with the Russian Ambassador.

It was a brief moment of sanity and accountability amidst the chaos that has come to define Trump presidencies.

Trump should fire Waltz, Hegseth, Gabbard, and Ratcliffe for their crimes and lies.

If the President won’t act, they must resign. And when Democrats retake the House in 2026, they must be impeached.

Not for politics—but for the safety of our troops and the security of our nation.

These officials may sit on the Principals Committee, but they violated the most important principle of all: protecting the American people. And for that, they must be held accountable—because no one is above the law.