Breaking News: Trump officials’ Signal chat ‘could have cost American lives – Senator Mark Warner

Senate Intelligence Ranking Member Mark Warner (D-Va.) on Sunday criticised the White House officials implicated in the Signal leak scandal, saying they risked American lives and called into question their initial use of the communications app.

“If you had been a traditional military officer or a CIA caseworker and you were this sloppy and careless with this classified information, you would be fired,” Warner told host Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.” “No doubt about it.”

On Monday, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg published a bombshell report revealing he’d been included in a Signal group chat where the nation’s top defence officials, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Mike Waltz, discussed plans for a military strike in Yemen. Waltz later admitted that he had inadvertently added Goldberg to the group chat.

The public backlash has been swift. But despite calls for Waltz’s firing, including from inside the White House, Trump has stuck by the national security adviser, calling the brouhaha “a witch hunt.” Most Republicans — though not all — have rallied around the White House, dismissing the incident.

Warner told Raddatz about two town halls he hosted yesterday in southeastern Virginia, home to America’s largest naval base. He met friends and relatives of the military members aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, the aircraft carrier currently stationed in the Mediterranean from which the attacks took place.

“Those folks were saying, if their friends or loved ones were flying those jets and that information had been released and the Houthis were able to change their defensive posture, we could have lost American lives.”

Lawmakers and analysts have also expressed concerns over the officials’ use of Signal to disclose war plans. The platform, which includes end-to-end encryption of messages and audio calls, is more secure than texting. However, it is significantly less secure than government-classified communications networks, which are designed particularly to handle secret information.

“I use Signal to talk to someone because it is safer,” Warner said. “I actually encourage people to use Signal. But that still doesn’t mean, because it’s safer, you can put classified information.”

Signal “is a platform that can be compromised,” said Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) on Sunday. But the former House intelligence chair told Raddatz that he still has confidence in Hegseth and Waltz to shepherd the country through a tumultuous moment in foreign policy.

“It was a great operation and I think they’re doing an excellent job,” Turner said. “I do think though that both the Armed Services Committee and the Intelligence Committees are taking up this issue. And I think there will be a review going forward as to whether or not Signal should be used and whether or not these types of conversations should occur.”

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