National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said he takes ‘full responsibility’ for the security blunder which saw the US’ war plans leaked after journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was added to the group chat, but he had some choice words for Goldberg himself.
The Donald Trump administration is currently in hot water and facing much scrutiny after Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a Signal group chat which included top security officials.
The chat included vice-president JD Vance, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, secretary of state Marco Rubio and other high-profile figures discussing an upcoming attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen seemingly unaware Goldberg was in the group.
Goldberg said he received a connection request from someone who appeared to be White House National Security Advisor Michael Waltz before he was added, though he ‘did not assume that the request was from the actual Michael Waltz’.
On Tuesday (March 25) Waltz spoke with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham to discuss the incident.
Waltz took full responsibility while also appearing to shift blame to the journalist for being added to the chat (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
He said: “I take full responsibility. I built the group. It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.
“We’ve got the best technical minds looking at how this happened.”
Ingraham pressed Waltz to reveal which staffer was responsible to which the security advisor insisted there wasn’t one who was to blame.
When asked how the number even ended up in the group chat, he replied: “I take full responsibility. I built the group. My job is to make sure everything is coordinated.
“Have you ever had somebody’s contact that shows their name and then you have somebody else’s number there? … Of course I didn’t see this loser in the group. It looked like someone else. Whether he did it deliberately or it happened in some other technical mean is something we’re trying to figure out.”
Waltz continued to insinuate that Goldberg is somehow to blame for ending up in the chat.
The Atlantic has hit back against those criticising the publication following the incident(Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for The Atlantic)
He said: “I can tell you for 100 percent I don’t know this guy. I know him by his horrible reputation, and he really is the bottom scum of journalists.
“And I know him in the sense that he hates the president, but I don’t text him. He wasn’t on my phone. And we’re going to figure out how this happened.”
The Atlantic has already responded to the criticism from Waltz and others in the administration defending the breach of security.
The publication said in part: “Attempts to disparage and discredit The Atlantic, our editor, and our reporting follow an obvious playbook by elected officials and others in power who are hostile to journalists and the First Amendment rights of all Americans.”
