The Atlantic Should Not Find Out About a War Before Congress Does
Everyone has been there. You were added to a group chat that you’re not supposed to be a part of, and you can’t seem to stop the messages. Or, more embarrassingly, you’ve added someone else to a group chat they were not supposed to see. But most people have not done so with Top Secret military plans and the editor of a major magazine.
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, reported on Monday that he had been added by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz to an encrypted Signal group chat with the White House’s principals committee to discuss U.S. war plans in Yemen. Goldberg received the first message at 11:44 a.m. on Saturday, March 15, and around two hours later, the White House announced a new air campaign against Houthi forces. The National Security Council confirmed the group chat was real and claimed Goldberg was added by accident.
The leak became an opportunity for Democrats to clutch their pearls about the sanctity of classified information. “You have got to be kidding me,” groaned former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, whose own presidential bid was derailed by her mishandling of classified data. Goldberg himself accused the Trump administration of violating the Espionage Act and federal record-keeping laws, warning that some of the messages “could conceivably have been used to harm American military and intelligence personnel.”
And among Republicans, the leak intensified the Trump administration’s internal struggle over foreign policy. The hawkish Wall Street Journal editorial board used the messages to paint Vice President J.D. Vance as “a voice for U.S. retreat.” Politico, on the other hand, reported that Trump administration insiders saw “an opening for longtime Waltz detractors suspicious of his neoconservative ties to push for his removal.” After all, he had Goldberg, a personal enemy of Trump, in his phone contacts. Trump told NBC that Waltz has “learned a lesson” and blamed a junior staffer.
There’s a much bigger scandal than Waltz’s alleged carelessness, however. The U.S. has been involved in Yemen against the will of Congress for years, and President Donald Trump reopened a dormant war without any kind of public deliberation. The messages that Goldberg chose to publish reveal that the timing was driven by hawks’ desire to sell the war—and go over Congress’ head—rather than any urgent threat to American lives.
“There was no emergency. The executive branch unlawfull
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