Suit filed against Hegseth over Signal chat leak

The story of the week is #SignalGate, the leaked conversation between Defense and intelligence officials regarding an attack against the Houthis in Yemen.

Many Trump supporters are trying to play this down, but I am not one of them, as I believe this was a real issue that needs to be investigated and fixed ASAP. Pete Hegseth may have other problems, however, and could possibly be facing Espionage Act charges if an activist group has its way.

#SignalGate

The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg found himself as part of a group chat with a bunch of Trump officials regarding the attack. Trump backers are saying Goldberg should have told them he had been included in and bowed out, but if the situation were reversed, say a Fox News reporter getting tapped into a Biden war conversation, do we really think that would happen?

Goldberg held the story until after the attack took place, and it was a good thing he did because, in my opinion, there was enough information in those texts that I believe any intelligence officer worth their salt could have quickly put this all together and gone after our planes.

Goldberg claimed these were “war plans,” later changing the description to “attack plans,” but that is all semantics.

Hegseth has been defending himself in the media, and while Trump has stood behind Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz thus far, that front is starting to crumble, as I would have to imagine Trump realizes he is losing this battle in the media.

There were classified!

Hegseth and everyone else involved say that none of this information was classified, but I disagree based on the nature of the content. Remember, something does not necessarily have to be labeled as classified to fall into that category. When you are giving times, strike packages, equipment, etc., I think most people with military experience who are being honest would say this would be considered classified information.

The National Review’s Andrew McCarthy is on the same page as me on this, writing, “It is undeniable, or at least it should be, that ‘information providing advance warning that the US or its allies are preparing an attack’ is to be classified as ‘top secret.’ That is what is mandated by the government’s own Classification Guide (section 3.4.3), which is promulgated by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”

He further explained, “Under Executive Order 13256, which has controlled classification determinations for decades, information is deemed ‘top secret’ if its ‘unauthorized disclosure . . . reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.’”

There is a very real chance that Hegseth, among others, could face serious charges here, possibly even the Espionage Act, with his only saving grace being that the GOP is running the DOJ right now. That may be the only reason he is not being charged at this point.

The Suit

American Oversight is taking the fight to Hegseth on this, filing a suit that Hegseth violated federal records laws by revealing details of the strike against the Houthis. And guess who the case has been assigned to? Judge Boasberg, the same judge who just blocked Trump’s deportation order and the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.

American Oversight is arguing, "Generally, agencies ensure retention of messages sent on apps like Signal by setting policies requiring officials and personnel to forward them to official systems for proper archival or take other steps to preserve their content.”

Also named in the suit are Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as the National Archives and Records Administration.

Trump’s legal team is already pushing back, but don’t dismiss this as just another political attack against Trump. This is already getting legs and not just on the left. Conservative pundits are split on this, and even calling out the administration for its spin. I think Hegseth will avoid the legal problems because it’s Trump’s DOJ, but someone’s head is going to have to be served up, if not a few heads, and I think Hegseth and Mike Waltz are going to be at the top of that list.