Trump defends adviser over adding wrong journalist to secret chat group

US President Donald Trump admitted on March 25 that a mistake had been made when administration officials accidentally added journalists to a chat group discussing sensitive information about the Houthi attack plan.

Trump responded after US administration officials discussed classified information about war plans against Houthi forces in Yemen on the Signal app and national security adviser Mike Waltz mistakenly added a journalist to the chat group.

"Mr. Waltz learned his lesson. He's a good guy," the US President told NBC News, affirming that the mistaken addition of The Atlantic 's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a confidential chat group did not affect US military operations.

US President Donald Trump at a meeting at the White House on March 25

President Donald Trump said the incident was “the only mistake in two months and it wasn’t a major mistake.” “It just happens. Sometimes people get added without you knowing. It’s not perfect technology,” he said. The US leader said Mr. Waltz did not need to apologize, but noted that future meetings to discuss similar issues should be held in person.

Waltz said he was solely responsible for creating a chat group on the messaging app Signal, where top US military and intelligence officials discussed airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. CIA Director John Ratcliffe said he did not share any classified information in the chat group.

The incident has sparked a wave of criticism from the Democratic Party. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries on March 25 asked Mr. Trump to immediately fire US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Mr. Jeffries said that Mr. Hegseth had disclosed the secret war plan in a reckless and arbitrary manner. "His behavior endangered the lives of the American people and potentially violated the law," Mr. Jeffries added. Meanwhile, Minister Hegseth affirmed on March 24 that no one texted about the war plan.

The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Goldberg, said the US defense chief was trying to deflect attention from the fact that the US government had discussed sensitive information on an unsecured commercial messaging app. Goldberg did not disclose information that could pose a national security risk, but said the chat included details about the weapons used, the target and timing of the attack on Yemen.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-trump-bao-ve-co-van-vu-them-nham-nha-bao-vao-nhom-chat-mat-185250326075732461.htm