Rep. Jasmine Crockett touted the Signal app in comments over the weekend. (Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
"The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans," the Monday article was headlined.
The Trump administration has maintained that no classified information was shared in the chat, doubling down Wednesday that the Atlantic's story was a "hoax" after Goldberg published specific texts from the chat. The messages included Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth outlining that combat aircraft were set to take off and strike drones were ready for the operation, which were accompanied by timestamps.
Jeffrey Goldberg speaks on stage during the "Nancy Pelosi on The Art of Power" panel for the Atlantic Festival, September 2024, in Washington. ( Jemal Countess/Getty Images for The Atlantic)
The Atlantic told Fox News Digital Wednesday that the outlet did publish "war plans," directing Fox Digital to a screenshot of Hegseth's messages on the strategy to eliminate Houthi rebels.
"If this information—particularly the exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen—had fallen into the wrong hands in that crucial two-hour period, American pilots and other American personnel could have been exposed to even greater danger than they ordinarily would face," the Atlantic's report stated of Hegseth's messages.
The use of Signal, though not in the context of war or military operations, has become increasingly more prevalent within the D.C. Beltway in recent months.
The app grew in popularity after it was discovered in October 2024 that Chinese-linked hackers were targeting cellphone data in the U.S., including data belonging to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance during the campaign, Politico reported Tuesday.
Years before the Signal leak involving the Trump administration and subsequent outrage from Democrats and other critics, Democrats had repeatedly touted Signal as an additional precautionary measure against potential hacks.
National security advisor Mike Waltz addressed the Signal text chain leak on "The Ingraham Angle." (Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
"They chat via the encrypted messaging apps Signal and Wickr with cyber experts from the DNC’s sister committees and third-party vendors, discussing suspicious incidents and other information," the 2018 Politico story stated.
Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, who called for Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to resign over the Signal chat leak, celebrated and thanked the Senate Sergeant at Arms in 2017 for approving the use of Signal for lawmakers and staff that year.
"With the transition to default HTTPS for all of the other Senate websites and the recent announcement by your office that the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal is approved for Senate staff use, I am happy to see that you too recognize the important defensive cybersecurity role that encryption can play," Wyden wrote in the 2017 letter.
Sen. Mark Warner is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (Reuters)
"Signal worked great for Senator Warner when he wanted to meet with the disgraced liar Christopher Steele. It’s a little surprising Warner is pretending to be so upset about it today," a Senate GOP leadership aide told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Warner spokesperson Rachel Cohen told Fox News Digital Tuesday, "The fact that Fox News is in possession of these messages demonstrates exactly why Signal shouldn’t be used to discuss classified national security material like war plans."
TRUMP REVEALS WHO WAS BEHIND SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LEAK
Fox Digital also reported Tuesday that the federal office in charge of ensuring cybersecurity at all levels of the government cited the use of encrypted messaging app Signal as a "best practice" for "highly targeted" government officials.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) outlined in a December 2024 guide for federal employees that encrypted messaging platforms such as Signal better protected officials against foreign enemy hackers amid a Chinese-linked cyber breach. CISA is an office under the Department of Homeland Security's umbrella that is charged with ensuring cybersecurity across all levels of government.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Signal is an "approved app" for government employees. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during Wednesday's press briefing that Signal is an "approved app" for government employees, citing that the "CIA has it loaded onto government phones because it is the most secure and efficient way to communicate."
CIA Director John Ratcliffe appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday morning for an annual hearing on the global threats facing the U.S., and highlighted that Signal was already downloaded on his government devices when he was sworn-in as the CIA chief in January.
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"One of the first things that happened when I was confirmed as CIA director was Signal was loaded onto my computer at the CIA, as it is for most CIA officers, one of the things that I was briefed on very early, Senator, was by the CIA records management folks about the use of Signal as a permissible work use," he said.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-have-long-history-supporting-encrypted-signal-app-ahead-trump-chat-leak