The incompetence of these people is staggering.

By now, you probably know about the absolute revelation of a story first
published yesterday in The Atlantic and then covered by approximately every journalistic outfit in the galaxy.

Numerous high-ranking members of the Trump regime reportedly discussed
top-secret military operations — before they had been carried out — using a
popular messaging app that could have been accessed by anyone able to compromise
their phones. And they somehow accidentally included the editor-in-chief of one
of the country’s oldest magazines in their group chat.

According to reports, there were 17 Trump officials involved, including:
JD Vance, Vice President of the United States
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary
John Ratcliffe, CIA Director
Michael Waltz, National Security Advisor
Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff
Stephen Miller, Homeland Security Advisor and White House Deputy Chief of Staff

Only. The. Best. People.

This is not just a matter of recklessness. And it’s not just a matter of
national security (the thing Republicans have been insisting they care about
more than Democrats do for decades).

* The messages were set to auto delete, likely contrary to laws requiring
preservation of records, a key means of holding government officials
accountable.

* It’s hardly worth pointing out the obvious hypocrisy of how the entire
Republican Party went berserk when Hillary Clinton used a private email
server. Lock who up, now?

* But it is worth asking: Why didn’t any of these supposed experts object to
sensitive military information being discussed via an insecure messaging app
— very likely in violation of the law — or ask why an outsider was included
in the chat?

* Was this the first time they had done this, or have they been operating this
stupidly, carelessly, and outside of accountability all along?

Here’s how Senator Chris Coons of Delaware put it:

“Every single one of the government officials on this text chain have now
committed a crime — even if accidentally — that would normally involve a jail
sentence. We can’t trust anyone in this dangerous administration to keep
Americans safe.”

Of course, a core “philosophy” of Trumpism is never to admit any wrongdoing, so
we’re not holding our breath waiting for any of these people to do the right
thing and resign in disgrace.

But we are calling for an immediate, full-scale congressional investigation and
for every one of these clearly unqualified, bumbling, dangerous officials to be
held accountable if they broke any laws.

An urgent message to Congress: [[link removed]]

High-ranking officials in the Trump administration discussed upcoming military
operations via an unauthorized messaging app and didn’t even realize they had
included a person who does not have security clearance and who is not part of
the government. The American people deserve to know how this happened and what
steps are being taken to prevent it from ever happening again. We are calling
for an immediate, full-scale congressional investigation and for any officials
who broke the law to be held accountable.
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