Trump blasts ‘witch hunt’ as Yemen chat scandal mounts
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US President Donald Trump (left) said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is doing a great job and had nothing to do with the leak.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on March 26 dismissed a scandal over leaked plans for Yemen air strikes
Republican Trump lashed out after the Atlantic Magazine published a transcript of the messages accidentally shared with its editor in a chat group of senior US officials on Signal, a commercially available messaging app.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed details in the chat including the times of strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the type of aircraft, missiles and drones used, before the attacks actually happened, the Atlantic said.
“Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this,” Mr Trump said when asked by AFP in the Oval Office whether Mr Hegseth should consider his position over the scandal.
“How do you bring Hegseth into this? Look, look, it’s all a witch hunt,” added Mr Trump, who was taking questions after announcing new tariffs on foreign-made cars.
Mr Trump repeated his insistence that no classified information was shared in the breach, and added that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz “took responsibility” for the error.
It was Mr Waltz who mistakenly added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat, sparking what has been dubbed “Signalgate”, in the biggest scandal since Mr Trump returned to power in January.
‘Resign in disgrace’
The magazine initially withheld the details of the attack plans, but finally published them on March 27 after the White House had insisted that no classified details were involved and attacked Mr Goldberg as a liar.
The White House and a string of officials involved in the chat lined up to try to downplay the story as pressure mounted.
Mr Hegseth, on a visit to Hawaii, said the exchange on March 15 involved “No names. No targets”.
US Vice-President J.D. Vance, who fired a rifle at a shooting range while visiting a Marines base near Washington, said the Atlantic had “overplayed” what happened.
Only Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted there had been a “big mistake”, while highlighting his own limited role.
Democrats have trained much of their fire on Mr Hegseth, a former Fox News contributor and veteran.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told MSNBC: “The Secretary of Defence should be fired immediately if he’s not man enough to own up to his mistakes and resign in disgrace.”
Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth said Mr Trump should sack all the officials in the chat and called Mr Hegseth a “liar” who “could’ve gotten our pilots killed”.
Meanwhile, Mr Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was seeking an independent report from the Trump administration.
‘Anti-Trump hater’
The Atlantic said the texting was done barely half an hour before the first US warplanes took off to hit the Houthis on March 15 – and two hours before the first target was expected to be bombed.
“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)“, Hegseth wrote, referring to US Navy jet fighters, before adding that “Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME”.
“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets).”
A screenshot of a Signal group chat, during a hearing on global threats before the House Intelligence Committee in Washington on March 26.
PHOTO: KENNY HOLSTON/NYTIMES
Mr Hegseth also wrote about the use of US drones and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
A short time later, Mr Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of an attack, writing that US forces had identified the target “walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed”.
Peppered with questions at a daily press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described Mr Goldberg as an “anti-Trump hater”.
Mr Elon Musk, the billionaire running a huge government cost-cutting drive for Mr Trump, had offered “technical experts” to find out how Mr Goldberg was added to the chat, she added.
Mr Trump’s comments came as Houthi media said late on March 26 that new US strikes had hit the rebel-held capital Sanaa, after earlier reporting 19 American raids elsewhere in Yemen.
The Trump administration has stepped up attacks on the Houthi rebels in response to constant attempts to sink and disrupt shipping through the strategic Red Sea.
The Houthis claim they are acting in solidarity with Gaza amid Hamas’ war with Israel. AFP
