NJ congressman, candidate for governor, says defense secretary lied and should resign

A member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a Democratic candidate for governor of New Jersey is calling on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign.

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. 5th District, called for the resignation following days of scandal about top national security officials discussing sensitive attack plans over a messaging app after mistakenly adding the editor of The Atlantic magazine to the chat.

“Based on all of the facts that have become public, it’s clear that the Secretary of Defense lied about his disclosure of classified information, including advance warning and plans of U.S. strikes on the Houthis," Gottheimer said in a written statement on Thursday.

"The Intelligence Committee briefing I received this morning only reinforced the sensitivity of the information that was disclosed," Gottheimer said.

"I strongly support the strikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis — a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization that has targeted American service men and women, bases, allies, and military and commercial vessels.

"However, Secretary Hegseth’s reckless actions increased the risks to brave men and women and the mission they faced. He should resign and be replaced by someone who can properly protect sensitive information. The American people deserve accountability and our service members who protect our country deserve only the best leadership.”

More calls for Hegseth to resign

Several Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday called for Hegseth to step down.

“This is classified information. It’s a weapon system, as well as a sequence of strikes, as well as details of the operations,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois who is on the committee. “He needs to resign immediately.”

Trump bristled at the suggestion that Hegseth should step down.

“He’s doing a great job," Trump said. "He had nothing to do with it.”

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 “information providing indication or advanced warning that the U.S. or its allies are preparing an attack.”

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.

“I haven’t reviewed the DOD guidance, so I can’t comment,” Gabbard said referring to the Department of Defense.

White House defends; Dems call it baloney

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.

“I think it’s all a witch hunt,” 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 — “THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP,” 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: “Baloney.”

“When you describe time, place, type of armaments used: Do they think the American public is stupid?” 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 committee’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 “who actually has the facts and can speak on behalf of the administration.”

"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,” Wicker said.

Asked about the call for an inspector general probe, Trump replied, “It doesn’t bother me.”

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.

Haggling over details

Hegseth, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and other administration officials on Wednesday uniformly insisted that no “war plans” had been texted on Signal, a claim that current and former U.S. officials have called “semantics.”

War plans carry a specific meaning. They often refer to the numbered and highly classified planning documents — sometimes thousands of pages long — 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 — specific attack details selecting human and weapons storage targets — 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, “No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods. And no classified information.” He did not directly address Democrats' concerns about the timing and weaponry details in the chain.

“This only proves one thing: Jeff Goldberg has never seen a war plan or an ‘attack plan’ (as he now calls it). Not even close,” Hegseth, who is traveling to the Indo-Pacific this week, added.

Hegseth told reporters in Hawaii he had not texted “war plans” or “attack plans” in the Signal group, pointing out he had called his post a “team update.”

“My job, as it said atop of that (post), everybody's seen it now - ‘TEAM UPDATE’ - is to provide updates in real time, general updates in real time, keep people informed,” he said before boarding a plane for Guam without taking follow-up questions. “That's what I did. That's my job.”

Waltz, who has acknowledged he built the Signal chain and has taken “full responsibility” for the episode, amplified Hegseth's contention.

“No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,” Waltz posted on X. “Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent. BOTTOM LINE: President Trump is protecting America and our interests.”

(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission)