this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2025
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Summary

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied allegations that he texted classified war plans to a Signal group chat that mistakenly included The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.

The National Security Council confirmed the chat’s authenticity but called the inclusion of Goldberg an inadvertent mistake.

Lawmakers from both parties demanded investigations, with former CIA Director Leon Panetta warning of potential espionage violations.

Hegseth dismissed Goldberg as a "deceitful" journalist. Trump denied knowledge of the incident.

(page 2) 50 comments
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[–] [email protected] 91 points 1 week ago (2 children)

pete hegseth was a DUI hire.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

He's in a really unique position in that he can claim to not remember doing something awful, and most likely be telling the truth.

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[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 week ago (3 children)

These fucking guys only ever lie and deny.

Are we really too stupid and weak as a country to be able to do anything about this?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago

It would seem the case - the US is impotent while the sitting president twiddles his thumbs and denies knowing his upper eschelon staff are using unsecure comms. Makes me laugh about the tough-guy image they want versus the limp-dick energy the display.

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[–] [email protected] 73 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Lmfao

The editor in chief of The Atlantic wrote an op-ed on the whole episode, and they have corroborated and confirmed from multiple sources that he was, indeed, inadvertently shown data that is considered SCI in a Signal group chat that was likely conducted through the personal devices of administration officials.

There is no debate here. That happened. This is like rear ending someone in your car and totaling both vehicles and just refusing to even acknowledge that you even felt anything.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 week ago

It's like the "We're all trying to find the guy who did this" skit with the guy in the hotdog suit and the hotdog car.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

I agree with your position, but think it's even worse than the situation depicted in your analogy because of the security implications and the accountability implications. I don't know how to represent those in your analogy, though. Lol

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Why is nobody talking about the fact that we are bombing Yemen? Yes, including a random person in a text channel talking classified information is a problem. But, why are we just brushing off the actual chat contents?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

CENTCOM shit. If Trump and Elon were genuine, they'd get rid of this true waste of tax payer $s.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Every president since Carter has bombed Yemen (I think).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

So it’s like hazing now?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

That doesn't make it a good thing. Should we just accept that the U.S. military industrial complex is what it is, and shrug it off? Bcz that's what you're suggesting.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm just saying it's unremarkable.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 week ago

Im sure the people being bombed in Yemen feel the same way...

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

There's a couple reasons -

  1. It wasn't so much "bombing Yemen" as it was, bombing a terrorist organization within Yemen's borders. This is something every American administration has done for decades. That makes it poor political fodder, you can't "one up" the competition with it.
  2. Most Americans would agree that the Houthis, once it is explained to them who they are, need to be bombed. The actual action would be reprehensible to some, but acceptable to most. You can't put pressure on an admin to change their tactics when they feel they have a plurality of support.
  3. The sad and undeniable fact is that in American politics - American lives are simply more important than foreign ones. That's not really unique to American culture, it's not meant as a criticism, it's just a sad reality. Bombing Yemen is pretty low risk for American lives - but sloppy OPSEC put American lives at huge risk so that's where the focus is.

In a perfect world, the fact that America is committing violence in other nations and is not realistically reigned in by International Laws or Treaties would be a point worth getting upset about. But that fact is over 100 years old and has been successfully normalized. The idea of incompetent buffoons operating the Department of Defense like a bunch of frat boys trying to organize a kegger is marginally newer and more impactful on the national psyche.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

They're bombing the Houthis rebels who are (were?) fucking with the red sea shipping route to protest Israel, but I'm not sure how much they're still fucking with it today. The Yemen government isn't fully in control of Yemen.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago

I don't think we're ignoring that, so much as there is an overwhelming amount of bad shit to talk about stemming from this single incident.

And to be honest the bigger issue revealed here isn't the failure to protect classified information or that they're bombing Yemen (In a vacuum at least) right now but the fact that they are violating the law also by using an app that destroys documentation of their conversations. This has implications not only legally or militaristically but also that they know they want to do shit that would be illegal and evil enough that they don't even want to use standard classified channels, not just bombing of Yemen but probably more future evil shit.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Because pointing out that America is bombing Yemen is like pointing out that water is wet.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

That's not an excuse. There were huge ass protests over the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War. Putting pressure on officials to end this bullshit os worthwhile. Shrugging, and saying meh, it is what it is is super unhelpful.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Fuck you Pete 'DUI Hire' Hegseth.

You used a non-approved communication application and caused a massive data leak with you and your incompetent morons in office using OpSec that my junior engineers know better and if any one else did what you did, that's be fired and be facing charges.

Fucking pathetic children who can't take any accountability.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

inadvertent mistake.

Lets give the benefit of the doubt and say it was a mistake. Is that a matter and a position, where such a mistake is tolerable? Or is it something that disqualifies for any position in that domain and demands immediate resignation?

Because if you seriously make a mistake, and you realize the gravity of it, you take responsibility for it. If you instead remain in position, you either don't recognize the gravity of it, which is an even bigger reason to resign, or you indeed acted with intent.

But in this case it did not start with inviting Goldberg. It started with making a chat group on an unauthorized app, likely using unauthorized devices to discuss matters that are explicitly forbidden to be taken out of specific permitted official channels.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

inadvertent mistake

...as opposed to the other kind of mistake.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I mean you can do something intentionally and then later realize that it was wrong to do so.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

That's most mistakes. They're still inadvertantly mistakes.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

You're right Pete. It wasn't texting.

It was RCS through an untraceable encrypted messaging app named Signal

Which is WORSE since records are destroyed

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