White House says Signal controversy is 'closed'
The White House said Monday that its probe into how a journalist was added to a group chat of officials discussing military strikes is closed, as the administration seeks to move past the controversy.
"This case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
“There have been steps taken to ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again moving forward, and the president and Mike Waltz and his entire national security team have been working together very well, if you look at how much safer the United States of America is because of the leadership of this team,” Leavitt added, referencing President Trump's national security adviser.
Leavitt did not specify what steps were taken. Some administration officials have defended the use of Signal despite the controversy, and Trump has indicated he does not intend to fire anyone over the incident.
The Atlantic last week published messages from a group chat on the app Signal about strikes against the Houthis after Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to the discussion. Others in the chat included Waltz, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President Vance.
Critics have lambasted the administration over the mishap, with some Democrats seizing on the prospect that classified information about an impending military operation was shared in a channel with a journalist.
Waltz in particular has come under scrutiny, as he apparently added Goldberg to the group by mistake.
Trump said last week that Waltz had taken responsibility for adding Goldberg, even as he and other officials sought to attack The Atlantic and dismiss the significance of the story.