The US President has defended his national security adviser who leaked top secret messages on airstrikes on Houthi rebel groups in Yemen.
Since the leak, Mike Waltz has come under fire as he has faced countless calls to resign - although Donald Trump has branded him a “good man” who “learned a lesson”.
Meanwhile, one Washington official called Waltz a “f****g idiot” for adding editor-in-chief of The Atlantic to the group.
“Everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is a f***ing idiot,” the source told Politico.
Donald Trump blamed the error on a "glitch"
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Blaming other staff for the “glitch”, Trump told NBC News: “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man.”
He added: “It was one of Michael’s people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there.”
Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was added to the Signal app group called “Houthi PC small group” where he watched conversations between Waltz, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and other top White House leaders play out.
After, the editor wrote up how he was privy to conversations over operational details, as well as other sensitive information.
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Dismissing the scandal, Trump said that Goldberg being on the chat had “no impact at all”.
He also claimed that it was “the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one”.
Slamming the error, Goldberg told MSNBC: “I'm thinking to myself, I'm glad Mike Waltz didn't invite a Houthi into the group or a Russian spy, or an adversary of the United States.”
Another US official said that the mistake was “reckless”, Politico reported.
One Washington official called Waltz a “f****g idiot” for adding editor-in-chief of The Atlantic to the group
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“It was reckless not to check who was on the thread. It was reckless to be having that conversation on Signal.
“You can't have recklessness as the national security advisor,” they said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hit out at the criticism, insisting that the “President continues to have confidence in his national security team, including Mike Waltz”.
She added that neither “war plans” nor “classified material” had been discussed on the group.
