Kaine & Colleagues Demand Answers about Trump Cabinet Officials’ Use of Unsecured Group Chat for Military Planning
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, and 13 of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to President Donald Trump demanding answers about several Cabinet officials’ accidental adding of a reporter to an unsecured group chat where secret, high-level military planning was occurring, in violation of security protocols and potentially in violation of the law.
“I am gravely concerned by appalling reports that senior officials of your Administration, including the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, and other Cabinet members, coordinated military strikes in Yemen over the commercial and unclassified messaging application Signal. I am even more concerned by the fact that a reporter was included on the same Signal chat,” wrote the senators.
“It does not take much imagination to consider the likely ramifications if this information had been made public prior to the strike – or worse, if it had been shared with or visible to an adversary rather than a reporter who seems to have a better grasp of how to handle classified information than your National Security Advisor,” the senators continued. “This is an astonishingly cavalier approach to national security.”
“Finally, the fact that messages were set to disappear on this chain is a direct violation of the Presidential Records Act, a further egregious breach of public trust. This incompetence warrants disciplinary action,” added the senators.
In the letter, the group of senators demanded answers from the Trump Administration to the following:
- What disciplinary action will be taken against those involved in the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain? Will you revoke their security clearances? What security training had they received?
- What remedial action was taken to limit damage following this disclosure?
- What other sensitive military operations have been coordinated by your administration via Signal?
- Please confirm whether or not the lives of servicemembers were placed at risk due to this carelessness and whether other operations or sources were impacted.
- Are you aware of ongoing efforts by our adversaries, including China, Russia, and Iran, to target unclassified devices used by senior Administration officials, and can you confirm that China, Russia, Iran or other adversaries did not have access to any of the classified or sensitive information shared in this group chat?
- Will you comply with the Presidential Records Act and provide the text of the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain for appropriate handling and preservation?
- What remedial training regarding the handling of classified and sensitive military information will be provided to all who participated in the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain?
- What other training will be provided to members of the executive branch who handle classified information to ensure that it is understood that classified materials should not be shared over Signal?
In addition to Kaine, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Full text of the letter is available here.
President Trump:
We are gravely concerned by appalling reports that senior officials of your Administration, including the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, and other Cabinet members, coordinated military strikes in Yemen over the commercial and unclassified messaging application Signal. We are even more concerned by the fact that a reporter was included on the same Signal chat, entitled “Houthi PC small group,” demonstrating a complete lack of understanding by all involved of the gravity of the discussion and a profound carelessness for the lives of the servicemembers conducting operations against the Houthis. It does not take much imagination to consider the likely ramifications if this information had been made public prior to the strike – or worse, if it had been shared with or visible to an adversary rather than a reporter who seems to have a better grasp of how to handle classified information than your National Security Advisor.
Not only was an uncleared reporter given access to sensitive intelligence via this group chat, since cell phones are not permitted in Secure Compartmentalized Information Facilities (SCIFs), it appears that these text conversations were sent in violation of basic security protocols – either from within a SCIF, or more likely, out in public where the unsecured devices were susceptible to theft, hacking, or being seen by anyone walking by. This is an astonishingly cavalier approach to national security.
Finally, the fact that messages were set to disappear on this chain is a direct violation of the Presidential Records Act, a further egregious breach of public trust. This incompetence warrants disciplinary action.
We demand prompt responses, at the appropriate classification level, to the following:
- What disciplinary action will be taken against those involved in the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain? Will you revoke their security clearances? What security training had they received?
- What remedial action was taken to limit damage following this disclosure?
- What other sensitive military operations have been coordinated by your administration via Signal?
- Please confirm whether or not the lives of servicemembers were placed at risk due to this carelessness and whether other operations or sources were impacted.
- Are you aware of ongoing efforts by our adversaries, including China, Russia, and Iran, to target unclassified devices used by senior Administration officials, and can you confirm that China, Russia, Iran or other adversaries did not have access to any of the classified or sensitive information shared in this group chat?
- Will you comply with the Presidential Records Act and provide the text of the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain for appropriate handling and preservation?
- What remedial training regarding the handling of classified and sensitive military information will be provided to all who participated in the “Houthi PC small group” Signal chain?
- What other training will be provided to members of the executive branch who handle classified information to ensure that it is understood that classified materials should not be shared over Signal?
You have been entrusted with the security of our entire nation. It is our sincere hope that you will direct all who were involved to cease this unprofessional and careless behavior and endeavor to bring an approach to their positions that reflects the gravity of the current security environment.
Sincerely,
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