Trump administration downplays, defends security chat breach
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz took responsibility for mistakenly adding a journalist to a group chat discussing war plans in the Middle East.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz took responsibility for mistakenly adding a journalist to a group chat discussing war plans in the Middle East.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz took responsibility for mistakenly adding a journalist to a group chat discussing war plans in the Middle East.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz took "full responsibility" for accidentally adding a journalist from The Atlantic to a group chat with top-level national security officials.
Waltz appeared on Fox News Channel's "The Ingraham Angle" Monday night, raising more questions over how exactly The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg ended up in the chat.
"He's the one that somehow gets on somebody's contact and then gets sucked into this group," Waltz said. "I don't know this guy. I know him by his horrible reputation, and he really is the bottom scum of journalists."
The mistake has led to criticism from lawmakers in Congress. Many Democrats expressed outrage and called for an investigation into what some describe as a "serious breach" of national security information protocol, potentially endangering U.S. military lives.
Republicans have been more dismissive, suggesting that the incident should be reviewed to ensure it does not happen again.
While answering reporter questions Tuesday, President Donald Trump downplayed the incident, attacking Goldberg and standing by Waltz.
"[The Atlantic has] made up more stories and they're just a failing magazine. The public understands that," Trump said. "[Waltz] is a very good man."
Members of House Democratic leadership are calling on Trump to fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or have Hegseth resign. of recklessly and casually disclosing highly sensitive war plans in the group chat, "risking lives and violating the law."
Meanwhile, Trump looked to pivot to a different issue, to overhaul elections in the U.S.
The order requires proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and mandates all ballots be received by Election Day.
The order also threatens to pull funding from states where election officials refuse to share voter lists and prosecute election crimes.
It's expected to face several legal challenges, as states set the rules and run their own elections. Trump has long argued, without evidence, that mail-in voting and undocumented immigrants have led to massive voter fraud.