The White House is clapping back against media reports alleging intelligence officials have been using the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal to send classified information, describing the allegations as ‘false’ in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The statement from National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Brian Hughes comes after Politico published a report suggesting Trump National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his team have used the app frequently to discuss sensitive communications on a variety of different issues.
‘This is a clear attempt by some in media and the Democrats to obscure the simple truth: The President and his national security team are delivering for the nation by confronting our adversaries and standing with our allies to bring peace through strength,’ Hughes said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Hughes added that Signal is ‘an approved’ messaging app, particularly as it pertains to unclassified info, ‘and any claim NSC officials are sending classified information over these channels is false.’
Questions have circulated about the Trump administration’s use of Signal since The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg released his exposé alleging he was accidentally invited by Waltz to a sensitive group chat on the encrypted messaging app. Critics of the Trump administration have said the messages included ‘war plans’ for an attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
There have also been debates over whether the information discussed in the chat uncovered by Goldberg was classified information or contained ‘war plans.’
Media reports from The Wall Street Journal, Politico and The Washington Post have claimed Waltz and his team have frequently used Signal and other public messaging platforms to discuss sensitive topics and official government business.
‘Using Signal to send unclassified information is appropriate, and these same facts have been reported multiple times in the last few days,’ Hughes said, noting there are federal agencies that ‘automatically install’ Signal on government devices.
‘Some in NSC, like those in the media and many areas across the federal government, use the Signal app,’ Hughes added. ‘All communications are a reflection of a thoughtful dialog of those committed to the effective implementation of the president’s agenda.’
In December, before President Trump took over the White House from Joe Biden, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency called on senior government and political officials to switch to end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms like Signal.
Still, critics of the Trump administration are demanding answers. On Tuesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sent letters to ‘non-principal agency officials’ who were part of the original Signal group chat that accidentally included Goldberg.
The letters call for the individuals, who Democrats say may have ‘firsthand knowledgeconcerning the discussion of sensitive and/or classified national security information on Signal,’ to appear before Congress for transcribed interviews.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sent another letter to Waltz Tuesday as well, demanding he and his staff stop using Google’s Gmail for official government business after The Washington Post published a report claiming members of the president’s National Security Council were using personal Gmail accounts to discuss official business.
The letter to Waltz demanded he turn over all communications relating to official government business that he or his staff sent over Signal or other ‘unauthorized messaging and email applications and platforms.’
Waltz has taken responsibility for the leaked Signal chat that Goldberg accidentally accessed, but he also insisted ‘no classified information’ was ever discussed in the messaging thread.
