Hillary Clinton: Signal group chat 'dangerous' and 'just dumb'
Former Secretary of State and one-time Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton blasted the Trump administration's Signal app leak as "dangerous" and "just dumb" in a New York Times opinion piece published Friday.
"In a dangerous and complex world, it’s not enough to be strong. You must also be smart," Clinton wrote in her op-ed on top-level Trump officials' decision to use the encrypted messaging platform to discuss sensitive military details for an airstrike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
"This is the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds by the new administration that are squandering America’s strength and threatening our national security," Clinton wrote. "If this continues, a group chat foul will be the least of our concerns, and all the fist and flag emojis in the world won’t save us."
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic and former foreign affairs correspondent, revealed Monday that he was mistakenly included in a Signal group chat where Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others discussed plans for the March 15 strike on Houthi targets in Yemen hours before it took place.
Clinton's immediate response, posted on the social media platform X on Monday shortly after news of the Trump security team's Signal breach started circulating, was short: "You've got to be kidding me," she wrote.
Goldberg said he originally suspected the discussion he was invited to on Signal was an elaborate hoax but realized it was legitimate after strikes were carried out in Yemen. The White House later confirmed the authenticity of the Signal chain, while President Trump and other administration officials have conceded inviting Goldberg to the group chat was a "mistake."
Trump and his allies have spent the week in defense mode over the snafu, largely waving it off as insignificant because the operation was deemed a success. Bipartisan lawmakers have pushed for more investigation into the administration's use of Signal and for answers on how a journalist was included in a discussion about sensitive military planning.
Clinton herself faced widespread scrutiny over her own handling of sensitive information while serving as secretary of State during the Obama administration after it was revealed she used a private email server and some of the emails on it had markings of classified information.
The Clinton email scandal a major issue during the 2016 presidential race and spawned Trump's frequent rally chant "lock her up."
The Associated Press noted that members of the Trump administration group chat who have downplayed the breach reacted differently a decade ago to news of Clinton's private server.
"It’s not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it’s the stupidity," Clinton wrote in the Friday op-ed.