The Trump administration is attempting to downplay a major security breach which saw a journalist added to a Signal group chat in which top officials were discussing war plans. Intelligence officials faced questioning at a Senate hearing investigating the blunder.
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00:00Trump's intelligence officials in the hot seat, over a Signal group chat containing
00:04sensitive war plans that a journalist was accidentally added to.
00:08At a Senate hearing investigating the breach, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard
00:13and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who were in the chat, testified.
00:18There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal chat.
00:21So then if there was no classified material, share it with the committee.
00:26You can't have it both ways.
00:28These are important jobs.
00:29This is our national security.
00:31Editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine Jeffrey Goldberg says he was added to the discussion
00:36on the encrypted messaging app by U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
00:41The chat contained 18 senior Trump officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense
00:46Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
00:51There Goldberg claims he read communications about an impending U.S. attack on Yemen, one
00:56day before it happened.
01:00The U.S. launched large-scale military strikes against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen
01:05earlier this month, an assault that killed dozens of people.
01:09He was texting war plans.
01:10He was texting attack plans, when targets were going to be targeted, how they were going
01:17to be targeted, who was at the targets, when the next sequence of attacks were happening.
01:22I didn't publish this and I continue not to publish it because it felt like it was
01:26too confidential.
01:28After previously denying involvement, Waltz has now owned up.
01:32I take full responsibility.
01:33I built the group.
01:35My job is to make sure everything's coordinated.
01:38But both Waltz and President Donald Trump have taken aim at the reporter, calling him
01:41a sleazebag and the bottom scum of journalists, as well attacking the magazine he works for.
01:49Trump insists there was no classified information disclosed in the discussion and told reporters
01:54in Washington he had no intention of seeking punishment for those involved.
01:57No, I don't think he should apologize.
02:00I think he's doing his best.
02:03It's equipment and technology that's not perfect and probably he won't be using it again, at
02:10least not in the very near future.
02:12That's despite Democrats calling for heads to roll over the debacle.
02:16They've called for the resignation of Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
02:21And the breaches sparked alarm from U.S. veterans and former government staff who said the actions
02:25of these Trump officials could have put military and civilian lives in danger.
02:30And if an adversary were to have intercepted these messages, what it does is it puts our
02:35fighter pilots who were up in the air about to conduct the operation against the Houthis
02:40at risk.
02:41I mean, it truly puts their lives at risk.
02:43The White House say it's looking into the use of Signal, but has not announced its own
02:47investigation into the leak, attempting to sweep the blunder under the rug as Senate
02:51leaders consider if the breach will be probed further.
02:55Dolphine Chen and Rosie Greninger for Taiwan Plus.