There is no excuse. “Signalgate” shows top officials played fast and loose with security. Just as Wikileaks exposed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s venality and abuse of travel, Signalgate shined light into just how amateurish President Donald Trump’s top team was.
Sure, national security adviser Mike Waltz might be to blame for adding Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat, but Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has only himself to blame for the immaturity and lack of judgment his contributions exposed. That none of those participating in the Signal chat understood that foreign intelligence services could penetrate Signal shows a culture of impunity and carelessness is now the rule rather than the exception. That Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff apparently logged into Signal from Moscow, if not inside the Kremlin itself, should itself be a fireable offense. The silver lining is that the scandal now makes it less likely any of those involved will be using their cellphones or laptops on any visit to China.
