Michael Waltz has learned a lesson and he's a good guy, says Donald Trump to NBC News.
Trump's statement comes a day after it was revealed that leading representatives of his government discussed military attacks on Yemen in a chat group on the encrypted messaging service Signal, where a journalist could follow everything in real-time.
What has happened constitutes "the only mistake in two months (since the change of power, ed. note), and it didn't turn out to be a serious one", according to Trump.
It had no consequences for the military intervention itself, according to Trump. He also claims that it was not the national security adviser Waltz who accidentally invited an unauthorized party to the conversation, but one of his employees.
Followed by bombs
The magazine The Atlantic reported on Monday how its editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was suddenly invited to a group chat where ministers and top officials discussed the Yemen attacks.
The authenticity of the conversation was confirmed when the plans were carried out and the US military, according to the timetable discussed, began airstrikes in Yemen.
According to Goldberg, the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth presented the plans for the Yemen attacks: targets, weapons, and deployment.
No one has chatted about war plans, that's all I have to say, said Pete Hegseth in a brief appearance where he called Goldberg a "dishonest so-called journalist".
"A damn idiot"
According to news site Politico's government sources, the revelation has led to a major crisis management. There is a widespread discontent, primarily with Waltz.
Everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is a damn idiot, says a source.
Some of those chatting – including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Intelligence Chief Tulsi Gabbard – appeared on Tuesday in previously scheduled committee hearings in Congress.
The leading Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner, said that American lives could have been lost if the information had fallen into the wrong hands. Senator Ron Wyden expressed that the consequence "should be resignations".
Gabbard, who did not want to confirm whether she participated in the chat or provide any details, stated that "no classified material was shared", according to AP.
If it wasn't classified, show the messages to the committee then, commented Warner on that.
Clinton: You've got to be kidding me
Leading Democrats are demanding that those involved be investigated for suspected crimes.
It is also highlighted how Republicans – including several in the notorious group chat – have long gone hard on former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for sending work emails via private servers during her time as Secretary of State.
"You've got to be kidding me", writes Clinton in social media now.
