trump-level lies: 'Hegseth says ‘nobody was texting war plans’ after group chat breach'

[pdq]

Says CNN:

… Over the course of the conversation, Hegseth sent “operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing,” according to The Atlantic. Elsewhere in the conversation, CIA Director John Ratcliffe sent “information that might be interpreted as related to actual and current intelligence operations.”

But Hegseth told some reporter that they weren’t texting war plans, and even if the texts are real, Goldberg is a bad reporter, so nah-nah-nah can’t hear you.

All would almost certainly be classified at the highest level, former officials said.

“Somebody needs to get fired,” former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta told CNN.

Ooh, ooh, can I pick?

… Pentagon regulations specifically state that messaging apps, including Signal, “are NOT authorized to access, transmit, process non-public DoD information.”

A former senior US defense official said…this amounts to a blatant mishandling of classified information and an illegal transfer of the material from a classified system to an unclassified network.

… Under normal circumstances, a mistake such as this would prompt an investigation by the FBI and the Justice Department’s national security division, according to former Justice Department officials.

[but] That’s unlikely here, in part because some of the top Trump administration officials on the Signal chat would be the ones to ask for such an investigation.

“If anyone else did it, no question it would be investigated,” a former Justice official said.

Gee, if only there were some long-established government mechanism (like, I dunno, an independent Inspector General, or special prosecutor, to look into this).

Oh wait.

But anyway, y’know, if a Trumpie breaks the law and endangers national security, that means it’s not illegal.

[Lux Interior]

Trump finally speaks (other than the Sgt Schulz excuses up to this point).

OVERZEALOUS STAFFER!!

[pdq]

I do like that Trump has come out with his usual defense when his people screw up - I don’t know anything about it, but the reporter is a doody-head.

So, Trump is out of the loop when the US launches a major military attack, and

No, he didn’t declassify anything beforehand.

Okay, got it.

[Wags]

Pete weighs in. https://youtube.com/shorts/VGp1ZsuCtS8?s...zEb8JqBM7C

[SteveG]

source: Fox News

"Director Gabbard, did you participate in the group chat with Secretary of Defense and other Trump senior officials discussing the Yemen war plans?" the committee vice chairman asked her.

"I don’t want to get into the specifics," she responded, noting that the matter is "currently under review by the National Security Council."

"There was no classified material that was shared in that," Gabbard also said.

"So then if there [was] no classified material, share it with the committee," Warner shot back. "You can't have it both ways. These are important jobs. This is our national security. Bobbing and weaving and trying to, you know, filibuster your answer. So please answer the question. Director Gabbard, if this was a rank-and-file intelligence officer who did this kind of careless behavior, what would you do with them?"

"Senator, I'll reiterate that there was no classified material that was shared in that," she said.

[Ombligo]

GOP congressional response is pretty much "oopsies, they goofed but promised it won't happen again. So no harm done. Besides BENGHAZI!

[mrbigstuff]

Hammer Hammer Hammer.

Repeat.

[$tevie]

Hegseth was paid to go on the air, lie, and have the audience swallow it hook, line, and sinker. It’s clear he pictures the entire country being as gullible as FOX news viewers.

[pdq]

Steve G. wrote:

"Senator, I'll reiterate that there was no classified material that was shared in that," she said.

They were discussing a military attack plan, just before and as it was happening. That’s either a bald-faced lie, or it is such a deceptive parsing of terms that it amounts to the same.

Man, what the hell happens to you when you get into this administration?

[GGD]

So they all should be totally comfortable with publicly releasing the unredacted contents of all of their Signal communications. Right?