Do y'all really just not care that Mike Waltz is obviously leaking information to Trump-hating journalists? Why would he have Jeffrey Goldberg's number to begin with? Why are all those other Trump-hating journalists on his contact list, which we saw on his public Venmo account?

You found a mole. He slipped up and outed himself in the most embarrassing way possible. How much more obvious can it get?

Have entertained that possibility more than once. In Trump''s position would be on very thin ice. Far more than Hegseth.

However, Anony Source's simple but Occam like idea that maybe Waltz is just technically not with it, where the devices are concerned could be true. May be as simple as that.

i'm sure waltz is getting taken out behind the proverbial woodshed behind closed doors, but the trump admin playbook for negative press is to aggressively deny any wrongdoing and attack the messenger. sure they executed it sloppily this time and lost control of the narrative, but for them to take a scalp publicly would be to break from that playbook and admit a mistake.

there's also the possibility that trump is truly in the dark about all this and is being held at arm's length while his shadow council quietly polices its own.

Everything points to Waltz on this.

But the Leftoids don't want Waltz. They want Hegseth.

BSS123456 said:

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That's what MAGA is saying the rest of the country actually cares, even actual conservatives

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Not to bemoan the obvious, but what are you - a 24 hour old sock account - doing here? Are you an Aggie, a paid contributor, or simply another sock that wants to spout off here with new anonyminity?

It undercuts your argument (or shall I say pronouncements) when you walz in here to trash Trump, his cabinet, and his supporters, but have zero history on this board.

If you're new here, try making an actual argument before trashing others.

ETA: My apologies. You're not a 24 hour old account. You're a 3 hour old account.

Squadron7 said:

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Everything points to Waltz on this.

But the Leftoids don't want Waltz. They want Hegseth.

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That explains much. Like that term for the commentariat.

esteban said:

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Do y'all really just not care that Mike Waltz is obviously leaking information to Trump-hating journalists? Why would he have Jeffrey Goldberg's number to begin with? Why are all those other Trump-hating journalists on his contact list, which we saw on his public Venmo account?

You found a mole. He slipped up and outed himself in the most embarrassing way possible. How much more obvious can it get?

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for why he has the number in his Signal…when I look at my account, it appears that anyone I have ever been in a group with is in my Signal contacts. Probably a third of the people, I don't recognize. If I had to bet, there was a press coordination group he was a part of at one time that included Goldberg…"hey, so and so is having a press conference at this time, etc.". Just my guess…could it be more nefarious? Sure, but this is my non-conspiracy guess.

Here's a very interesting look at what the Signal platform offers.

"Several experts we contacted, including a former acting defense secretary, a retired special operations forces officer and a government secrecy reform advocate, attempted to answer the question of why Signal became the go-to platform for a discussion that included operational details before the mission was launched.

They offer insights into the technology available to America's often on-the-go leadership and some perspective on features Signal provides that no government system can by law."

SIGNAL

Owlagdad said:

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Prosperdick said:

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Logos Stick said:

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rgvag11 said:

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2016 campaign promise being fulfilled.

Winning.

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We win everyday. Today Trump cut off WTO funding. Everyday I wake up to more winning.

I would have fired Waltz not because of the original error, but because I think he lied after the fact. Conservatives should not tolerate lying. We are not liberals. Liberals - every liberal that exists, politician or not - is a lying, worthless POS. There is no truth in them.

Hopefully bleeding on this board is therapeutic because that's as good as it's going to get for you. Nobody gives a crap about this except for liberals. It won't move the needle on the next election. The sooner you realize that the less stressed out your mind will be.

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In contrast this is what Biden did during his first few months in office:

Ezra Klein stuns Jon Stewart by detailing the failures of Biden's 'Build Back Better':
Ezra Klein: "7.5 billion passed for a nationwide network of electric vehicle chargers. We also get 42 billion dollars to do rural broadband. By the end of the administration, they just have not… pic.twitter.com/rLnNWJenqn

— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) March 27, 2025

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LOL. Reason why I got Starlink out here, and am happy as heck! If broadband does come out here, they dont have to stop or run a wire to my place.

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I had wireless internet probably 20 years ago...I lived out in the sticks.

Not as fast as folks could get in the big city, but still pretty decent.

Old McDonald said:

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i'm sure waltz is getting taken out behind the proverbial woodshed behind closed doors, but the trump admin playbook for negative press is to aggressively deny any wrongdoing and attack the messenger. sure they executed it sloppily this time and lost control of the narrative, but for them to take a scalp publicly would be to break from that playbook and admit a mistake.

there's also the possibility that trump is truly in the dark about all this and is being held at arm's length while his shadow council quietly polices its own.

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They've learned that contrition on brings on more attacks.

The left basically taught the right to do that...

The smart thing for Trump to do is isolate Waltz from anything important. Wait for the next holiday weekend and put out a press release saying he's left the administration to pursue a lifelong dream with a defense contractor.

Then maybe he can work on figuring out how he ended up with yet another National Security Advisor who leaks information to Jeffrey Goldberg. Maybe Elon, the all purpose problem solver, can conjure up an algorithm to explain that.

Military pilots are understandably concerned at the lack of accountability.

"The mistaken inclusion of the editor in chief of The Atlantic in the chat and Mr. Hegseth's insistence that he did nothing wrong by disclosing the secret plans upend decades of military doctrine about operational security, a dozen Air Force and Navy fighter pilots said.

Worse, they said, is that going forward, they can no longer be certain that the Pentagon is focused on their safety when they strap into cockpits."


OPSEC

Squadron7 said:

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Everything points to Waltz on this.

But the Leftoids don't want Waltz. They want Hegseth.

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waltz's ****ups were 1) inviting goldberg and 2) sharing details over signal like the target (top missiles guy) and location (girlfriend's building). hegseth did #2 as well by sharing other details like strike times and equipment used. for all we know #2 is a widespread practice that we only know about because of #1. all of them ****ed up by not recognizing or calling out that signal was an inappropriate place to share that info.

And then denying any of it happened after the WH already confirmed it lol

Seems to be the prevailing thought among reasonable Americans

Joe Kernen destroys Senator Chris Coons over the Signal hoax:

“Did you call for Lloyd Austin’s resignation? Not only did we lose 13 service members, we left $70B worth of equipment… He was [under anesthesia] and didn’t tell the White House. Did you ask for him to resign?” pic.twitter.com/Gwb3NUh756

— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) March 28, 2025

esteban said:

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The smart thing for Trump to do is isolate Waltz from anything important. Wait for the next holiday weekend and put out a press release saying he's left the administration to pursue a lifelong dream with a defense contractor.

Then maybe he can work on figuring out how he ended up with yet another National Security Advisor who leaks information to Jeffrey Goldberg. Maybe Elon, the all purpose problem solver, can conjure up an algorithm to explain that.

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The smart thing to do would be lay a trap and see if something innocuous leaks

Technical question: Just because something is end to end encrypted does that preclude Signal still having a backdoor?

I ask because we do not know how CISA tested or verified Signal's safety before making its 2024 recommendation for its use? I have had issues with CISA since 2020 and frankly have no faith in them actually doing their jobs as opposed to sweeping stuff under the rug.

One thing I imagine everyone can agree on is that officials need a modern, convenient way to securely chat.

"However, in an interview Tuesday, another current defense official said they think the U.S. government needs a broader arsenal of options for platforms that go farther than simple encryption and can be trusted for rapid text exchanges that incorporate sensitive and classified information.

"It is nearly impossible for U.S. government agencies all over the world to chat in real time with current U.S. government-provided systems," said the defense official."

Worth reading: NEEDED

Squadron7 said:

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Everything points to Waltz on this.

But the Leftoids don't want Waltz. They want Hegseth.

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Waltz is a nobody.

Hegseth would be a top level scalp to hang on the wall.

They got numerous ones during Trump's first term and now they want more.

Rapier108 said:

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Squadron7 said:

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Everything points to Waltz on this.

But the Leftoids don't want Waltz. They want Hegseth.

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Waltz is a nobody.

Hegseth would be a top level scalp to hang on the wall.

They got numerous ones during Trump's first term and now they want more.

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Yep.

That's the entire reason the left is hanging onto this so hard.

Everyone is just postulating.

We don't know what the government thinks of Signal and what type of information can be shared on it.

The government could have deemed that you can send sensitive information on it.

I am not going to do another breakdown of Signal, but it is pretty secure if you are running your own server and use a secure VPN which secure government phone use.

The server only forwards the message. The end point are the only apps that have the keys to decrypt the message. And the key is changed often. So even if a key is compromised they would only get the message or few messages that use that key.

Again, if using a secure government phone and VPN, which secure government phones have from boot up. AND the government has their own server, Signal would almost be totally secure.

From your article:

Quote:

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"There is no efficient way for agencies to chat in real time. For example: Most of your embassies use WhatsApp for communication with DOD, due to the need to be in real-time communication. Most of your staffs across the U.S. government use WhatsApp, Signal, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, etc. and they have for decades," the defense official said.

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Wait, I thought the benefit of using Signal over WhatsApp is that Signal themselves could not access content whereas WhatsApp does?

The protocol is secure. Allowing any idiot to invite any other idiot without verifying who that person is, is not.

Ag with kids said:

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Rapier108 said:

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Squadron7 said:

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Everything points to Waltz on this.

But the Leftoids don't want Waltz. They want Hegseth.

---

Waltz is a nobody.

Hegseth would be a top level scalp to hang on the wall.

They got numerous ones during Trump's first term and now they want more.

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Yep.

That's the entire reason the left is hanging onto this so hard.

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That, and the fact that they've absolutely nothing else to hang onto until now.

aggiehawg said:

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Technical question: Just because something is end to end encrypted does that preclude Signal still having a backdoor?

I ask because we do not know how CISA tested or verified Signal's safety before making its 2024 recommendation for its use? I have had issues with CISA since 2020 and frankly have no faith in them actually doing their jobs as opposed to sweeping stuff under the rug.

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Only the end points have the keys to decrypt the message. Server only passes the message and doesn't have the keys to decrypt.

There is an original handshake and passing of keys in the beginning.

will25u said:

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Everyone is just postulating.

We don't know what the government thinks of Signal and what type of information can be shared on it.

The government could have deemed that you can send sensitive information on it.

I am not going to do another breakdown of Signal, but it is pretty secure if you are running your own server and use a secure VPN which secure government phone use.

The server only forwards the message. The end point are the only apps that have the keys to decrypt the message. And the key is changed often. So even if a key is compromised they would only get the message or few messages that use that key.

Again, if using a secure government phone and VPN, which secure government phones have from boot up. AND the government has their own server, Signal would almost be totally secure.

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Isn't that what CISA advised in 2024?

aggiehawg said:

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From your article:

Quote:

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"There is no efficient way for agencies to chat in real time. For example: Most of your embassies use WhatsApp for communication with DOD, due to the need to be in real-time communication. Most of your staffs across the U.S. government use WhatsApp, Signal, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, etc. and they have for decades," the defense official said.

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Wait, I thought the benefit of using Signal over WhatsApp is that Signal themselves could not access content whereas WhatsApp does?

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Beats me.

Reason I asked is because I read Erik Prince's deposition from a few years back wherein he completely dissed using WhatsApp as a secure means of communication because WhatsApp kept content and they could access it.

Maybe they have fixed it since then but I consider Erik Prince a pretty reliable guy when it comes to security matters.

The security protocol is open source. So anyone can integrate it into their platform.

WhatsApp I believe uses Signal Protocol to secure their messages.

But back to the server, it is just a forwarder and does not have or keep any of the keys to messages. Which again is moot if the government runs their own servers. Which is most likely.

Aah. Thanks for the clarification.

titan said:

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BluHorseShu said:

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LMCane said:

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it was TWENTY THREE minutes before the first bombs started dropping

this wasn't an attack on the Soviet Union in 1975.

it was over the desert in Yemen in 2025.

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Wrong. It was two hours...but even if it was 23 minutes, if that info had gotten into the wrong hands, Houthis could have responded and Americans could have died. The fact that people are even defending this egregious screw up that we would never accept from any other administration shows you what this administration already knows and is betting on...that there is a group of supporters who will believe absolutely anything they say and deny any criticisms or facts that are counter to what they are saying. There's a term for that....apotheosis

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True in some aspects. That's where this comes in:

Quote:

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What is really amiss is yes, the more simple gripe about just say it -- there is nothing here that is worth alot of stonewalling or ducking about. Its just a screw up that had no consequences. Those are far and away the best kind of screw up -- because if acted on immediately, as if it had been a disaster, and the procedures revised to prevent it, you come out ahead.

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Its no exaggeration have found some aspects of the follow-up far more annoying than the error.

HOWEVER, what you are also seeing is that many are being careful to not too hastily enable or support faux outrage from the definite dishonest enemy of the DNC/MSM clique. That's more the kind of reaction you see Scott Jennings embodying and that is very real too (share it).

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I don't disagree. I also don't trust the MSM machine or Fox or most news and certainly not random podcasters. The MSM is sure to keep all over this story like anything else they can do to dismiss Republicans and this administration. But we also need to know and acknowledge when there's a genuine F/U. Accountability should exist when called for. There seems to be a fear of admitting anything because it somehow gives power to the MSM narrative. But the flip side is having a state run news agency that only parrots the administrations talking points. Its the people that need to hold administrations accountable.

BluHorseShu said:

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titan said:

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BluHorseShu said:

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LMCane said:

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it was TWENTY THREE minutes before the first bombs started dropping

this wasn't an attack on the Soviet Union in 1975.

it was over the desert in Yemen in 2025.

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Wrong. It was two hours...but even if it was 23 minutes, if that info had gotten into the wrong hands, Houthis could have responded and Americans could have died. The fact that people are even defending this egregious screw up that we would never accept from any other administration shows you what this administration already knows and is betting on...that there is a group of supporters who will believe absolutely anything they say and deny any criticisms or facts that are counter to what they are saying. There's a term for that....apotheosis

---

True in some aspects. That's where this comes in:

Quote:

---

What is really amiss is yes, the more simple gripe about just say it -- there is nothing here that is worth alot of stonewalling or ducking about. Its just a screw up that had no consequences. Those are far and away the best kind of screw up -- because if acted on immediately, as if it had been a disaster, and the procedures revised to prevent it, you come out ahead.

---

Its no exaggeration have found some aspects of the follow-up far more annoying than the error.

HOWEVER, what you are also seeing is that many are being careful to not too hastily enable or support faux outrage from the definite dishonest enemy of the DNC/MSM clique. That's more the kind of reaction you see Scott Jennings embodying and that is very real too (share it).

---

I don't disagree. I also don't trust the MSM machine or Fox or most news and certainly not random podcasters. The MSM is sure to keep all over this story like anything else they can do to dismiss Republicans and this administration. But we also need to know and acknowledge when there's a genuine F/U. Accountability should exist when called for. There seems to be a fear of admitting anything because it somehow gives power to the MSM narrative. But the flip side is having a state run news agency that only parrots the administrations talking points. Its the people that need to hold administrations accountable.

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Agree with all that. There's no real difference in our views there. I wish they had just been a little bit less all over the place in response, and more blunt. But also absolutely just stick to no resignations just for errors at the request of the DNC-MSM given what standard they set. Period. End of discussion.

Internally, you crack the whip and get some things looked at. This seems more a failure of setup than anything else in that I seriously question how much the most senior officials are supposed to know about the ins and outs of their devices. That certainly wasn't true of all kinds of weapon systems under commands of generals and admirals through time. That's what those assigned to know those are supposed to get right. The CinC's job is to have the accurate overall picture and take responsibility for fixing any shortcomings. Like this. But not with just resigning unless really catastrophic. Not may have been, WAS catastrophic. Everything else -- with the big exception perhaps of flatfooted negligence -- is a teaching lesson.

Ag in Tiger Country said:

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Hullabaloonatic said:

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Ag in Tiger Country said:

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My reading of the messages' content shows we NOW have very capable decision makers carefully weighing options instead of acting on impulse, which the Left has accused Trump of doing with impunity. Furthermore, it seems cabinet members are free to offer their input &/or disagree, including situations where tensions might run hot like the alleged Rubio v. Musk 'brawl.' Therefore, this isn't the political hand grenade the Left thinks it is, especially if folks read the texts!!!

Therefore, the real issues for me is A) why didn't the journalist announce their inclusion in a briefing, & B) was the journalist intentionally added to subvert this Administration or was this a gross oversight that's absolutely correctable? If the former, the leaker WILL be in big trouble AND the MSM may have lost an important "ally" in their mission to destroy this Administration, even if it means the nation is also harmed to achieve that very result (which is very believable considering what the Biden Administration did to the USA for 4 years)!!!

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So to recap, the US VP, SecDef, and other cabinet level officials used a method of communication to discuss battle plans, share attack specs including targets, timing, and armaments, and did it over a channel that is not subject to Information Retention standards or approved as a secure method. The information they shared was only to be shared from within a SCIF.

And the kicker is that one of them accidentally added a reporter and NOBODY ****ING NOTICED.

AND ALL THAT COMFORTS YOU?! YOUR ONLY CONCERN IS ABOUT THE JOURNALISTS ETHICS?!

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NO, THAT WASN'T MY ONLY CONCERN; IN FACT, CONCERN NUMBER TWO, DENOTED BY MY USE OF "B)" OUTLINED MY CONCERNS, ESPECIALLY THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE REPORTER'S INCLUSION WAS INTENTIONAL.

I GUESS YOU DIDN'T READ MY ENTIRE COMMENT, SO I'M RESPONDING IN ALL CAPS TO ASSIST YOU WITH YOUR COMPREHENSION.

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WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW? IT SEEMS WE FOUND THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK!!!

I don't know if this has been discussed already or not, but for Hullabaloonatic, I guess my second concern noted above in my original comment was indeed correct (if true). It seems one of Waltz's staffers added the Journalist, and this staffer's wife has an intriguing background to say the least.

https://www.facebook.com/1459994925/posts/10233585020994927/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

I'm not even gonna bother clicking a Facebook link. Jfc lol.

Also love the end to this sentence:
"…was indeed correct (if true)."

*chefs kiss*

You will know the truth tomorrow