The Trump administration struggled Wednesday to stem the fallout from revelations that top national security officials discussed sensitive attack plans over a messaging app and mistakenly added a journalist to the chain.The White House said the information shared through the publicly available Signal app with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, was not classified, an assertion that Democrats said strains credulity considering that it detailed plans for an upcoming attack on Yemen's Houthis.President Donald Trump during an Oval Office appearance to announce new tariffs on imported vehicles seemed frustrated as reporters repeatedly questioned him about the matter.맥스카지노�I think it맥스카지노�s all a witch hunt,맥스카지노� Trump said.The decision on determining whether the information is classified ultimately lies with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who in the chain listed weapons systems and a timeline for the attack 맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP,맥스카지노� he wrote. The Houthis have been wreaking havoc on vital Red Sea shipping lanes since November 2023 as the Israel-Hamas war raged.Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the position that the Trump administration is staking out can be described with one word: 맥스카지노�Baloney.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�When you describe time, place, type of armaments used: Do they think the American public is stupid?맥스카지노� Warner said in an exchange with reporters.There are no signs that the controversy will fade soon for Trump, who has said he stands by his national security team and has assailed the reporter's credibility. At the same time, he has made clear his preference for his team to discuss such operations in person and in more secure settings, though it is not yet clear if changes will be implemented as a result.Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he and Sen. Jack Reed, the committee맥스카지노�s top Democrat, will send a letter to the Trump administration requesting an expedited inspector general investigation into the use of Signal.They are also calling for a classified briefing with a top administration official 맥스카지노�who actually has the facts and can speak on behalf of the administration.맥스카지노�"The information, as published recently, appears to me to be of such a sensitive nature that, based on my knowledge, I would have wanted it classified,맥스카지노� Wicker said.Asked about the call for an inspector general probe, Trump replied, 맥스카지노�It doesn맥스카지노�t bother me.맥스카지노�But White House officials continue to insist no classified material was discussed in the March 13 to March 15 Signal chain and have launched scathing attacks on Goldberg. The Atlantic on Wednesday published the full content of the text exchange.Hegseth, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and other administration officials on Wednesday uniformly insisted that no 맥스카지노�war plans맥스카지노� had been texted on Signal, a claim that current and former U.S. officials have called 맥스카지노�semantics.맥스카지노�War plans carry a specific meaning. They often refer to the numbered and highly classified planning documents 맥스카지노� sometimes thousands of pages long 맥스카지노� that would inform U.S. decisions in case of a major conflict, such as if the United States is called to defend Taiwan.But the information Hegseth did post 맥스카지노� specific attack details selecting human and weapons storage targets 맥스카지노� was a subset of those plans and was likely informed by the same classified intelligence.Hegseth in an X posting said the message chain included, 맥스카지노�No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information.맥스카지노� He did not directly address Democrats' concerns about the timing and weaponry details in the chain.맥스카지노�This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an 맥스카지노�attack plan맥스카지노� (as he now calls it). Not even close,맥스카지노� Hegseth, who is traveling to the Indo-Pacific this week, added.Hegseth told reporters in Hawaii he had not texted 맥스카지노�war plans맥스카지노� or 맥스카지노�attack plans맥스카지노� in the Signal group, pointing out he had called his post a 맥스카지노�team update.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�My job, as it said atop of that (post), everybody's seen it now - 맥스카지노�TEAM UPDATE맥스카지노� - is to provide updates in real time, general updates in real time, keep people informed,맥스카지노� he said before boarding a plane for Guam without taking follow-up questions. 맥스카지노�That's what I did. That's my job.맥스카지노�Waltz, who has acknowledged he built the Signal chain and has taken 맥스카지노�full responsibility맥스카지노� for the episode, amplified Hegseth's contention.맥스카지노�No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,맥스카지노� Waltz posted on X. 맥스카지노�Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.맥스카지노�Several Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday called for Hegseth to step down.맥스카지노�This is classified information. It맥스카지노�s a weapon system, as well as a sequence of strikes, as well as details of the operations,맥스카지노� said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois who is on the committee. 맥스카지노�He needs to resign immediately.맥스카지노�Trump bristled at the suggestion that Hegseth should step down.맥스카지노�He맥스카지노�s doing a great job," Trump said. "He had nothing to do with it.맥스카지노�Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, in an exchange with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard during the panel's hearing on global threats on Wednesday noted that her office's criteria on classified information make clear that it includes 맥스카지노�information providing indication or advanced warning that the U.S. or its allies are preparing an attack.맥스카지노�But Gabbard said the decision on whether the Signal chain should be classified lay with Hegseth. Asked by Himes if she believed the Pentagon's classification guidance was materially different from her office's, she demurred.맥스카지노�I haven맥스카지노�t reviewed the DOD guidance, so I can맥스카지노�t comment,맥스카지노� Gabbard said referring to the Department of Defense.The Trump administration stance on the Signal chain is also a notable departure for a U.S. government that routinely classifies a vast amount of far more mundane material, including millions of documents pertaining to military and intelligence operations and activities.Advocates for open government have long complained that the push for secrecy goes too far, by protecting information that could shine a light on government activities or that would seem of little value to our adversaries, including material about UFO sightings and 60-year-old presidential assassinations.Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that having a journalist in a Signal group chat with the most senior Trump officials was a 맥스카지노�big mistake." But he said he has been assured that the information shared did not threaten the operation or the lives of the service members.Press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during her White House press briefing, described the messaging thread 맥스카지노�as a policy discussion, surely a sensitive policy discussion, amongst high-level Cabinet officials and senior staff.맥스카지노� She dismissed the outrage as a 맥스카지노�coordinated campaign맥스카지노� by Democrats to 맥스카지노�sow chaos.맥스카지노�Peppered with questions about how the administration can conclude classified information wasn맥스카지노�t shared considering launch times and weapon systems were discussed in the chain, Leavitt said it was up to the public to decide whose opinion they trusted.맥스카지노�Do you trust the secretary of defense 맥스카지노� who was nominated for this role, voted by the United States Senate into this role, who has served in combat, honorably served our nation in uniform 맥스카지노� or do you trust Jeffrey Goldberg?맥스카지노� she asked.