Hillary Clinton responded sharply to the revelation that senior Trump officials had leaked national security secrets via a group chat. “You have got to be kidding me,” she posted, adding a side-eye emoji. The bombshell report by The Atlantic on Monday exposed how high-ranking Trump officials—including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz—had discussed classified war plans in a Signal group chat. Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added to the conversation.
For Clinton, the irony is significant. Her 2016 campaign was embroiled in controversy over her use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State, leading to relentless attacks. Some of the same officials involved in the current leak had previously criticized her actions, particularly Rubio, who called her email practices “incompetence” and “malpractice” in 2015. Waltz, who added Goldberg to the chat, even mentioned Clinton’s email issue in 2023, criticizing the handling of classified messages. Trump also repeatedly called for Clinton to be jailed over her emails, leading to chants of “lock her up!” during his rallies.
The Signal app, which is not authorized for sharing classified information, may have been used in violation of several laws, according to Goldberg. He noted that sensitive national security discussions should be conducted in designated secure environments, not commercial apps. Hegseth, however, seemed confident that the chat was secure, claiming it was in line with operational security despite Goldberg’s presence in the group.
