I wrote earlier that when it comes to SecDef Pete Hegseth there was more SignalGate crap he was part of (or oganized) than we knew. This evening low and behold I’ve learned I was right! Not that I’m surprised. Still, MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace making a point (with pained amusement) that no, viewers were NOT watching some video version of The Onion puts a new spin on things.
Alas, we had the first two SignalGates, both of which were related to the attack on Yemen. Like I said it was a safe bet there were more, AND that Hegseth wouldn’t stop using the unsecure app. Nor his pals in this maladministration As this article from Raw Story tells us:
There’s another Signal scandal in President Donald Trump’s administration, and it’s almost as if it is a story out of the satirical site “The Onion,” said MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace on Monday afternoon.
“Another day, another Signal scandal for Pete Hegseth. Screenshots from another text chat suggest administration officials wanted to deploy an elite military division onto the streets of American cities. And they put that in writing, and someone saw it. This is not ‘The Onion,'” said Wallace, teasing the segment.
Both of the first two (Yemen related) ones were ‘special’, although not in a good way. Believe it or not this one’s worse. Why you ask? It’s because of HOW we learned about it. That’s a point Wallace made, that while it’s bad this stuff has continued there’s arguably a worse component to SignalGate3. While the linked article briefly describes the subject which was sending military into our city streets, the real point she wanted to make was even more important. At least if you care about national security and the fact Hegseth and his “bros” don’t seem to care, even after the original SignalGates that it’s NOT a platform for pals to be yucking it up about DOD matters on. There are actual secure means of communication but they leave records. As I understand it the platform in question deletes conversations fairly quickly.
However we learned about this one because of something truly stunning. As in lack of f**ks to give about where participants happened to be and who was close enough by to hear them and even see their smartphones:
She cited a conversation between Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Anthony Salisbury, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, and Patrick Weaver, senior advisor to Secretary of Defense Hegseth.
It “happened in a crowded space. So crowded and so public, in fact, that someone was able to take pictures of their conversation and catch their exchange and then share them with a reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune so we could all see them contained therein. Among dozens of messages, a discussion about the deployment of the Army’s vaunted 82nd Airborne, an elite infantry division, a deployment not to a faraway combat zone, but to the streets of — wait for it — Portland to crack down on.”
Well, if you recall the first time around Trump was talking shop with foreign officials about a military strike and there were clear satellite photos strewn across the table. In the freaking dining room at Mar A Lago where lots of people walked by and chatted up Trump! Kind of hard, if someone reminds him of that (he’s forgetting an awful lot lately) he’ll be too harsh with his pet SecDef.
As for our top generals (and enlisteds) who had to sit through Hegeseth strutting around the stage with perfect makeup and perfect (gelled) hair berating THEM for not doing their jobs properly it’s one more reason for them to say ‘f**k this asshole’ and do all in their power to ignore his directives. Troops too. As someone who once held a Clearance I know there are countless troops out there who saw the first two SignalGates and had a “WTF?” reaction. THEY would be in the brig in a heartbeat, follow by a rapid Court Martial conviction and the ‘Big Chicken Dinner.’ That’s military slang for Bad Conduct Discharge after serving their sentence.
Hegeseth? HE will of course get away with this. Mark my words he’s going to get people killed with this kind of crap. But hey, as you know Trump thinks the troops who will die are suckers and losers and Hegseth knows it. So do his Signal pals.
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It’s OK if you’re a Republican.
As always.
well, that is a big desl but i’m pretty sure deploying the 82nd airborne to portland is a bigger deal.