Trina's Kitchen: Easy Tom Yum Chicken Rice (Instant Pot or Rice Cooker) in the Kitchen

That's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Mommy! Save Little Petey!" and it went up tonight. And, yes, Pete Hegseth is a big cry baby. We'll get to the recipe in just a second but while we're on the topic of Petey Hegseth:

The White House is publicly defending Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he texted sensitive military information in a Signal chat. But behind the scenes, administration insiders are starting to express doubts about the Pentagon chief’s judgment.

Officials agree national security adviser Mike Waltz, who accidentally invited a journalist to a group chat with senior leaders, could more easily take the fall for a scandal that has embarrassed the administration — which may end up sparing Hegseth his job.

But Republican hawks, Pentagon officials and even some inside the White House now believe Hegseth also messed up by sending likely classified details from his phone. And that has the potential to undermine his credibility in the administration.

Because Trump clearly likes and has publicly exonerated Hegseth, “you’re not going to hear a huge public outcry,” said a senior GOP official on Capitol Hill who is close to the White House. “But, privately, there is a lot of concern about his judgment, more than with Waltz.”

Even for a Pentagon chief who has copied Trump’s pugilistic style — down to his Sharpie signature and campaign-style videos — Hegseth’s growing pile of mistakes are getting noticed, according to four officials and two people in touch with the administration.

“The problem is this is another example of inexperience,” said a person close to the White House, who like others, was granted anonymity to discuss a politically sensitive issue. “What happens when Hegseth needs to manage a real crisis?”

He never should have been confirmed. Hee wasn't qualified. He's a drunk and an idiot. He's betrayed the country and endangered members of the military with his actions, Gossip Girl Hegseth could have gotten the pilots sent on the bombing mission killed by doing his Gossip Girl routine and giving details on the strike before it happened. He could have gotten soldier killed. He's not fit to remain as Secretary of Defense.

Bonnie e-mailed to announce that she's fallen in love. Head over heals in love. Sadly, there will be no wedding. But it is real love, true love. She's fallen for What To Cook Today's Easy Tom Yum Chicken Rice (Instant Pot or Rice Cooker):

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs/breast diced

3 large bell peppers variety of colors, seeded and diced

1 large onion peeled and diced

2 cups jasmine rice see notes

½ cup coconut milk mix with 1 cup water

1 Tbsp cooking oil

Seasonings

3 Tbsp tom yum paste

Garnish

Fresh cilantro leaves

Use either one to cook

Instant Pot

Rice Cooker

Directions

Prepare the rice:

Wash the rice in several changes of water and then drain off completely

Cooking with Instant Pot pressure cooker:

Press saute on Instant Pot. When it's hot, add cooking oil. Add onion and saute for about 2 minutes until aromatic and soft. Add bell peppers and saute for another minute. Add the chicken and add tom yum paste and give it a stir. Add thinned out coconut milk and turn off the saute mode. Give it a stir again and scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing got stuck on the pot

Layer in the rice on top and use the spatula to push the rice into the liquid. This trick will prevent Instant Pot from giving you that "burn" warning. The rice will most likely get stuck at the bottom of the pot if you don't add it after the liquid

Close the lid. Turn the pressure release valve to "sealing". Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on high pressure. Set the timer to 8 minutes

After 8 minutes are over, wait for 10 minutes and then turn the pressure release valve to "venting". The valve most likely would've collapse down by then. Carefully unlock the lid. Be careful of the hot steam gushing out. Use a rice paddle to gently fluff the rice. Garnish with few sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves and ready to be served

Cooking with rice cooker:

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Add onion and saute for about 2 minutes until aromatic and soft. Add bell peppers and saute for another minute. Add the chicken, rice, and add tom yum paste and give it a good stir. Turn off the heat

Transfer to the inner pot of rice cooker. Add the thinned out coconut milk and give it a stir. Make sure the rice is covered by the liquid. Use the white rice setting to cook, it takes about 20 minutes to cook. Wait 10 minutes when it's done and then fluff the rice with rice paddle

Garnish with few sprigs of fresh cilantro leaves and ready to be served

This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for Thursday:

Thursday, March 27, 2025. Congress holds another hearing on the Chump administration's security breach and Tulsi Gabbard has a new excuse -- she was late to the chat. Senator Tammy Duckworth rightly notes that all the officials in the chat should be fired immediately. And much more.

Yesterday's snapshot covered the security breach that's let Americans know just how unsafe things truly are. Without knowing they had done so, many administration officials -- and the Vice President -- did a group chat on the unsecure app Signal and discussed a bombing that the US was about to carry out. All were at risk of being exposed to unintended eyes since it is not a secure app but this was especially an issue for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and National Security Advisor Michael Walz because they were using the unsecure app while outside of the US -- at a hearing we'll be covering in a few paragraphs below, US House Rep Jim Himes sarcastically termed the breach "a madcap Signal about an attack on Yemen while inside Russia." Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added in and was privy to all the information leading up to the bombing and after.

This is information that is top secret and it doesn't matter if Convicted Felon Donald Chump wants to say it's not classified or not. It was top secret. Had Goldberg gone on ABC NEWS immediately and started announcing, "We're about to bomb another country," the government would have moved to shut down the broadcast or to abort the mission. They would not have wanted those details out.

Though the always delusional Rashida Tlaib didn't get it and wants to whine that we're not!!! just not!!! discussing whether the bombing was a proper response!!! That's not the issue and we're are yet again at a point where the American people just cannot afford her stupidity. It's really time for her to consider a post-Congress career.

A) Nothing is stopping her from holding her own hearing exploring the pros and cons of the bombing. It might be a 'committee' hearing of one -- but she can do that and I attended many tiny 'committees' made up only of Democrats prior to the 2006 mid-terms.

B) That is not the issue. It is not the big and most important issue. Just as her stupidity has condemned the Palestinian people to more violence and left blood on the hands of Genocide Rashida as a result of her work to put Chump back in the White House, she's missing the point today.

Our national intelligence is the topic. This goes to the fact that the people in these posts do not know what they are doing. Prior to their confirmation hearings, I noted here of Trashy Garbage (Trina's longterm name for Tulsi Gabbard), Pete Hegseth and others that Chump's going to be responsible if we have an attack on our soil like 9/11 again. He's going to be responsible. His unqualified appointees are going to be responsible and the senators who voted to confirm these idiots are going to be responsible.

I don't want another 9/11 -- no, American does. But we are at risk when idiots are put into national security positions.

Now we've just seen that these idiots don't know enough to carry out a secure chat. That's alarming and it should really lead us all to once again grasp the need for experience in these positions.

With regards to Hegseth, I didn't write here that Chump needed to nominate a Democrat. I don't live in Rashida World where all the crazy runs free. I knew he would not nominate a Democrat. I suggested many -- including Joni Ernst -- all were Republicans and I talked about how he didn't have the experience required and didn't know how to carry out the duties. We've seen that.

Heads should roll on this. Not living in Rashida World where crazy runs free, I know we'll be damn lucky for this administration to take enough accountability to fire even one of the idiots responsible.

If that happens, it is all the more important that whomever is nominated to be a replacement is qualified. That means no FOX "NEWS" personalities, Congressional freaks, etc. The person needs to be qualified. I may not like them and that's fine. But it is not fine for America to do with seventy-seventh best because Chump wants to reward his cronies.

Again, Rashida needs to shut her damn mouth. No one needs her. DSA might raise money for her to run for re-election as an open Socialist but Democrats really aren't feeling like helping her campaign after her 2024 decision to put Chump in the White House.

So Tuesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee held a hearing. It was a nightmare. As we noted, three of the five government officials appearing before the Committee had "intelligence" in their job title yet all sported stupidity.

Wednesday, it was time for the House Intelligence Committee to see the witnesses. Director National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA DIRECTOR John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel, National Security Agency Director Tim Haugh and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Jeff Kruse. Yes, the same five who appeared before the Senate Intel Committee.

US House Rep Jim Himes is the Ranking Member on the Committee.

Now we come to learn that people in the most dangerous and sensitive jobs on the planet put extremely specific predecisional discussions about a military attack on Signal which could be intercepted by the Russians and the Chinese. Everyone here knows that the Russians or the Chinese could have gotten all of that information and they could have passed it on to the Houthis who easily could have repositioned weapons and altered their plans to to knock down planes or sink ships. I think that it's by the awesome grace of God that we are not mourning dead pilots right now.

Let's all take a moment to absorb that.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Now we come to learn that people in the most dangerous and sensitive jobs on the planet put extremely specific predecisional discussions about a military attack on Signal which could be intercepted by the Russians and the Chinese. Everyone here knows that the Russians or the Chinese could have gotten all of that information and they could have passed it on to the Houthis who easily could have repositioned weapons and altered their plans to to knock down planes or sink ships. I think that it's by the awesome grace of God that we are not mourning dead pilots right now.

Do you get it? I'm sure community members do and even most drive-bys. But I'm not sure everyone gets it. Rashida Tlaib clearly does not get it.

Gang of Rashida can't ever shut up about "her people." I'm sorry, I thought she was an American. Americans aren't "her people"? I see she can slash that red lipstick across her butt ugly face and scream for the cameras about Palestinians and about immigrants if they're immigrants who protested Israel. Don't see her doing much else. "Her people"? If that's the case, she needs to get out of OUR Congress. She has belittled this security breach and made clear that she doesn't give a damn about American lives. She also made that clear when she worked to elect Donald Chump. Rashida and Gang of Rashida need to be watched very closely because they will destroy us all given the chance and given their short-sighted and narcissistic ways. Rashida, you don't like the bombing. Guess what, you're a member of Congress. Take it to the f**king floor and protect Americans. Otherwise shut your damn mouth because we're focused on saving the United States, unlike you, we love this country, unlike you. Go tend to "your people" but stop pretending that you are a US Congress woman because you're just a seat filler marking time.

What Rashida refuses to grasp, Heather Digby Parton (SALON) does:

It took two months, but we finally have our first "gate" of the second Trump administration: "Signalgate" — and it's a doozy. You are no doubt aware by now that The Atlantic has published an article reporting that the top national security officials known as the "Principals Committee" were gathered together in a Signal group chat to discuss the impending bombing campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen and accidentally included the magazine's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, in the chat without realizing it.

In the chat, they discussed policy concerns about the campaign, slagged the European allies, shared what experts say are by definition classified battle plans, which included "precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing" and even mentioned the name of a covert CIA officer. Goldberg published an article about it on Monday, complete with screenshots of the chat, although he did not publish the classified information or the name of the CIA officer. On Wednesday, the Atlantic published more from the group chat:

That these high-level national security officials were all using a commercial app on personal phones that could easily be breached by state-level actors is bad enough. (One of the members on the call, special envoy Steve Witkoff, was actually in Moscow at the time.) But considering their previous outrage at Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email server, you would have thought that it would have crossed the mind of at least one of them that this was dangerous. There is no other way to interpret any of that except to assume that they commonly use Signal for such discussions in contravention of every security protocol in the U.S. government.

When you think about it, though, why wouldn't they? Their leader stubbornly refused to give up his own personal phone and made a fetish of blabbing national security secrets since his first term. Recall that right after he fired FBI Director James Comey, he had the Russian foreign minister and ambassador over to the Oval Office for a chat where he shared some very closely held classified information (which later turned out to be about Israel). After he was out of office, he stole boxes full of classified documents, stored them in his toilet and refused to give them back. He was indicted for that but the Justice Department dropped the charges when he won the election.

It's outrageous -- what happened is outrageous to those of us with a brain -- and that's regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum. Isaac Schorr (MEDIAITE) notes:

National Review executive editor Mark Wright called on President Donald Trump to fire Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over his divulgement of “operational details” regarding the American strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels over Signal earlier this month.

“The whole story is a tale so clownish, so stunning, so outlandish that it would seem to better fit into a gonzo satire of government ineptitude such as Burn After Reading or Veep,” observed Wright regarding National Security Adviser Mike Waltz’s adding of The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg to the Signal group chat in which top officials — including Hegseth, Waltz, and Vice President JD Vance — were discussing the plan for the strikes.

“It goes without saying that Trump won’t fire everyone involved in this debacle, which would include most of his senior national-security staff,” continued Wright before laying out his case for giving Hegseth the axe:

In my view, the most egregious behavior was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s. (The stupidest was National Security Adviser Mike Waltz’s adding of Goldberg to the conversation in the first place.)

Pete Hegseth — the top civilian in the Department of the Defense and a man who has command authority over U.S. military operations worldwide — texted information, over an unsecured channel, that “contained operational details of forthcoming strikes on Yemen, including information about targets, weapons the U.S. would be deploying, and attack sequencing.” That’s shocking, egregious, and totally outrageous.

President Trump should demand Pete Hegseth’s resignation. Today.

It really is that obvious. And that's why FOX "NEWS" has disappeared their own journalist Jennifer Griffin. She's their expert on national security. And she's been commenting on TWITTER but no air time for her on the 'news' network. Andrew Stanton (NEWSWEEK) observes, "The Wall Street Journal wrote Wednesday in an Opinion column that Witkoff's reported use of Signal while discussing sensitive topics such as the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine amounted to 'security malpractice,' raising concerns about possible Russian surveillance." ABC NEWS adds, "Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and top Senate Democrats from national security committees wrote a letter to President Donald Trump seeking more information about reports that members of his cabinet used the Signal app to convene a group chat to 'coordinate and share classified information about sensitive military planning operations' and mistakenly included The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeff Goldberg." Amanda Castro (NEWSWEEK) reports, "The Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Roger Wicker, is requesting an expedited Inspector General probe of the Signal group chat leak. Republican Wicker told reporters he was working with Democrat ranking member of the committee, Sen. Jack Reed, to ask for the probe and to seek a classified briefing on it."

Here's US Senator Adam Schiff speaking about the breach and the implications with Jen Psaki last night on MSNBC.

And here's Senator Tammy Duckworth speaking with Rachel Maddow last night.

As Senator Tammy Duckworth notes, Hegseth doesn't know how to handle classified information -- and Rachel outlines his earlier mishandling of information. He is Secretary of Defense and, as Tammy Duckworth notes, "he put those pilots in danger."

Back to yesterday's House Intelligence Committee hearing.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: It took two months, but we finally have our first "gate" of the second Trump administration: "Signalgate" — and it's a doozy. You are no doubt aware by now that THE ATLANTIC has published an article reporting that the top national security officials known as the "Principals Committee" were gathered together in a Signal group chat to discuss the impending bombing campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen and accidentally included the magazine's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, in the chat without realizing it. The two general officers sitting at the table and the people who work for them know that if they had set up and participated in the Signal chat, they would be gone. And they know that there's only one response to a mistake of this magnitude: You apologize, you own it and you stop everything until you can figure out what went wrong and how it might not ever happen again. But that's not what happened. The Secretary of Defense responded with a brutal attack on the reporter who did not ask to be on the Signal chain. Yesterday, our former colleague Michael Waltz did the same in the White House and then went on FOX to call Jeff Goldberg a loser. What do you think the people who work for you are seeing and learning from that? Now, except for the last part, almost all of the Mayhem slowly eroding our safety, our standing and our security in the world has largely happened outside the IC. If you had a part in that -- and I suspect you did: Thank you. I'll say it again and every time we see each other over the next couple of years. You must protect the thousands of patriots

Let's note a round of questioning.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: If there's something I care as much about as the national security of the United States, it's the power and prerogatives of this Congress and its oversight duties. So I want to spend a minute or so on yesterday's testimony in front of the Senate and direct these questions in particular to Director Patel and Director Gabbard. Yesterday, Senator Heinrich asked did this conversation -- referring to the chat -- include information on weapons, packages, targets or timing? Director Patel you said, "Not that I'm aware of." Director Gabbard, you said the same in your answer. This morning, we learned that the Signal chat included the following update -- forward looking update -- from the Secretary of Defense:

“TIME NOW (1144): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch.”

“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”

1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”

“1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Do either of the directors want to reflect on their testimony from yesterday in the context of what I just read?

FBI Director Kash Patel: (One) I was not on that Signal chat. (Two) I have not reviewed it. Uh (Three), as you just indicated, that was made public this morning.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: But, Director, you didn't, prior to yesterday -- you were on the Signal chat, weren't you?

FBI Director Kash Patel: No.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Did you review the material on the Signal chat?

FBI Director Kash Patel: No.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Director Gabbard?

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: Yes, Ranking Member, my answer yesterday was based on my recollection or the lack of thereof on the details that were posted there. I, uh, was not and the-the -- What was shared today reflects the fact that I was not directly involved with that part of the Signal chat and replied at the end reflecting the effects -- the very brief effects of -- that the National Security Advisor had shared.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: So it's your testimony that less than two weeks ago you were on a Signal chat that had all this information on F18s and MQ9 Reapers and Targets on strike and you, in that two week period, simply forgot that that was there? That's you testimony?

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: My testimony is I did not recall the exact details of what was included there.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: That was not your testimony. Your testimony was that you were not aware of anything related to weapons, packages, targets and timing.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: Uh, as the testimony yesterday continued on, there were further, uh, questions related to that where I acknowledged that there was, uh, a conversation about weapons and, uh, uuuuhhhh, I don't remember the exact wording that I used but I did not recall the specific details that were included.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Director Gabbard, we've -- you've reasserted that there was no classified information. I think we can all agree that that information shouldn't have been out there. But let me ask you this, are you familiar with the ODNI's classification guidance.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: I'm familiar.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: I've actually got a copy right here. If I read you a part of that guidance, I wonder if you could tell me the level of classification indicated is? I'm reading from your classification guidance. "The criteria is information providing indication or advance warning that the US or its allies are preparing an attack." Do you recall what your own guidance would suggest that be classified?

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: Uh, I don't have the specifics in front of me but it would point to, uh, what was shared would fall under the DoDs classification system and the Secretary of Defense's --

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Let me -- let me help you because there's a very clear answer. I guess you don't have it but "Information providing" -- this is the ODNI guidance "Information providing indication or advance warning that the US or its allies are preparing an attack should be classified as top secret." Do you disagree with that?

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: I don't disagree with that. I just point out that the DoD classification guidance is separate from the ODNI's classification guidance --

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Do you think it would be materially different?

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: Ultimately the Secretary of Defense holds the authority to classify or declassify

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Do you think it's likely that DoD guidance is different from what I just read?

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: I haven't reviewed the DoD guidance so I can't comment.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Director Gabbard, a lot of this suggests a lack of sobriety. When there's punch emojis [in the Signat conversation thread], fire emojis, it's a lack of sobriety. I don't mean that literally. But I have one last question for you because I think people really listen to what you have to say. You, on March 15th, as DNI reTweeted a post from Ian Miles Cheong who is listed on RT -- that's RUSSIA TODAY's website as "a political and cultural commentator" who has contributed content to RT since at least 2022. Director Gabbard, do you think that it's responsible for you as head of the intelligence community and the principal presidential intelligence advisor to reTweet posts from individuals affiliated with Russia state media?

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: That reTweet came from my personal account and I would have to go back to look at the substance of the Tweet.

Ranking Member Jim Himes: Can I -- Just so that we don't have a lack of confusion amongst our allies and, enemies and us-- can I ask perhaps that you not say one thing on your personal account than you say officially?

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: Uh, I maintain my First Amendment right to

There is so much wrong with the above.

First, free speech isn't you reTweeting a propaganda outlet -- especially when you're the Director of National Intelligence. There should not be a centimeter of space between what she says as DNI and what she Tweets "as a private person." You're not a private person, you idiot. You're the head of intelligence for the US government. That she doesn't grasp that may be the scariest thing about her statements.

Second, most of us have been in meetings, right? I don't care whether it's face-to-face or via some app or a conference call, if I'm in meeting, I make sure I know who everyone in the meeting is. Tulsi appers to want to push it off on Pete Hegseth. He clearly is responsible as is Waltz.

But everyone of the government participants are responsible.

Tulsi seems to believe she can get an excuse and a do-over by claiming she joined the chat late.

I've walked in late to many a meeting and scanned the room as I sat down to make sure I knew everyone and to immediately ask someone I didn't know who they were.

She joined late so that's her excuse?

No. She came in a group chat and it was her responsibility before saying a word to see who the participants were on that chat. That comes with her job.

What she seems to be arguing is, "I didn't know a journalist was present so it's not my fault because everybody who knows me knows that I just start spilling all the secrets the minute my mouth opens so it's their job to make sure no one's put in front of me that hasn't been cleared because I'm far too lazy to check anything out myself."

They should all lose their jobs is what Senator Tammy Duckworth told Rachel last night on MSNBC and I think she's correct.

Tuesday's Senate hearing, covered in yesterday's snapshot, included some strong questions from Senator Jack Reed. Yesterday, his office issued the following:

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee today joined Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and top Senate Democrats on key national security committees in seeking information about members of President Trump’s cabinet using the Signal app to convene a group chat to “coordinate and share classified information about sensitive military planning operations.”

In a letter to President Trump, the U.S. Senators sounded the alarm over the public discovery that the Trump Administration has been sharing discussions of classified military operations via unsecured text chains, jeopardizing national security, and endangering the lives of American servicemembers. The letter was also cc’ed to Attorney General Pam Bondi as well as numerous Trump administration officials who were reportedly members of the Signal group chat, including: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Reed and Schumer, along with U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee; U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee; U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, are pressing for answers to questions after The Atlantic revealed that an unsecured text chain with at least 18 senior-level Trump administration officials was used to coordinate and share highly sensitive military planning and operations information. This reckless operational security failure made a sensitive military mission vulnerable to interception by U.S. adversaries, and was exposed after the group inexplicably included a journalist, damaging our national security and risking the lives of American servicemembers.

“We write to you with extreme alarm about the astonishingly poor judgment shown by your Cabinet and national security advisors,” the seven Senators wrote. “You have long advocated for accountability and transparency in the government, particularly as it relates to the handling of classified information, national security, and the safety of American servicemembers. As such, it is imperative that you address this breach with the seriousness and diligence that it demands.”

The Senators note the willful or negligent disclosure of classified information constitutes a criminal offense and call for Attorney General Bondi to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation.

Additionally, the Senators demanded answers to ten questions, more information about the “Houthi PC small group” chat, and if any other classified information is currently being discussed on unsecured text chains in a similar fashion by senior administration officials.

Full text of the letter follows:

Dear President Trump,

We have learned that members of your Cabinet recently convened a group chat on the commercial messaging app “Signal” to discuss active, highly classified military plans and operations, and that they mistakenly included the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic in this group. The group, which was titled “Houthi PC small group,” apparently encompassed at least 18 people including your Vice President; Secretaries of Defense, State, and Treasury; National Security Advisor; CIA Director; Director of National Intelligence; White House Chief of Staff; and several other senior appointees.

Over the course of several days, this group chat reportedly discussed operational plans, targets, and weapon systems for upcoming U.S. military strikes in Yemen, and provided after-action battlefield damage assessments. These messages allegedly provided detailed intelligence about the movements and future locations of specific military assets and personnel in active combat zones. The group chat also contained extremely sensitive conversations between the Vice President and Cabinet officials that could have a negative impact on our diplomatic efforts with foreign allies and partners, particularly in Europe. We are aware that the Director of National Intelligence, and possibly others, appears to have been overseas while this group chat was active, making the entire discussion more vulnerable to interception by foreign adversaries. Inexplicably, throughout the days-long chat conversation, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic remained in the group chat and his presence was never questioned.

Let us be clear, if any American military servicemember, intelligence official, or law enforcement officer committed such an egregious breach of operational security and endangered the lives of their comrades downrange, they would be investigated and likely prosecuted.

We write to you with extreme alarm about the astonishingly poor judgment shown by your Cabinet and national security advisors. You have long advocated for accountability and transparency in the government, particularly as it relates to the handling of classified information, national security, and the safety of American servicemembers. As such, it is imperative that you address this breach with the seriousness and diligence that it demands.

Our committees have serious questions about this incident, and members need a full accounting to ensure it never happens again. Moreover, given that willful or negligent disclosure of classified or sensitive national security information may constitute a criminal violation of the Espionage Act or other laws, we expect Attorney General Bondi, copied here, to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation of the conduct of the government officials involved in improperly sharing or discussing such information. We also ask that you immediately direct relevant officials to preserve records of these communications and any other discussions of government business occurring on any messaging application. Some of the messages in the Signal chat were apparently set to disappear after a certain period of time – a potential violation of both the Federal Records Act and the Presidential Records Act.

We hereby request answers to the following:

1. Please provide a complete and unredacted transcript of the “Houthi PC small group” chat for review by our appropriate committees in a secure setting.

2. Please provide a complete list of all personnel who participated in or had access to the “Houthi PC small group” chat.

3. What dates was the “Houthi PC small group” established and when was the last message transmitted to the Signal group chat?

4. Were there any other individuals, in addition to Jeffrey Goldberg, who were erroneously included in the “Houthi PC small group” chat?

5. Did any U.S. government personnel access the “Houthi PC small group” chat using personal communication devices?

6. Were any personnel who participated in or had access to the “Houthi PC small group” chat traveling overseas while the group chat was active? If yes, on which devices did group members operate while accessing the group chat?

7. Did any individuals transfer classified information, including operational war plans, from classified systems to unclassified systems, and if so, how?

8. Has the intelligence community conducted a damage assessment of the potential leakage of classified and sensitive information via the “Houthi PC small group” chat and subsequent reporting?

9. Are any Cabinet level officials, their deputies or other designees, or White House officials using Signal or other commercial products to discuss classified or sensitive information or any communications subject to statutory recordkeeping requirements?

10. If so, how is the Administration ensuring that it meets its statutory requirements with regard to these conversations?

You and your Cabinet are responsible for the safety and security of the American people, as well as our military servicemembers and intelligence personnel in the field. We expect your Administration to address this dangerous lapse in security protocol—whether intended or not—with the utmost seriousness, and to uphold the ethic of accountability that our nation holds sacred. We must work together to ensure this does not happen again, and we look forward to reviewing the forthcoming reports.

Sincerely,

I was hoping to squeeze in another hearing in this snapshot. There's really not room. Maybe we'll pick up tomorrow or maybe Ava and I'll work it into our piece for THIRD this weekend. I'm also still looking for a video segment from Rachel's Monday show. I am not finding it at MSNBC but if I can, I will put it in Friday's snapshot.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following joint statement after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) moved to unlawfully hide how the agency directs agencies to spend taxpayer dollars. OMB hid this information by destroying a website that publicly displayed all of these decisions, known as apportionments.

“Federal law is unequivocal: OMB must publish the agency’s legally-binding budget decisions. Congress enacted these requirements over a Democratic President’s objections on a bipartisan basis because our constituents, and all American taxpayers, deserve transparency and accountability for how their money is being spent. Taking down this website is not just illegal it is a brazen move to hide this administration’s spending from the American people and from Congress. We call on OMB to immediately restore access to the website and resume compliance with this most basic, bipartisan transparency requirement.”

Apportionments are legally binding budget decisions issued by OMB under title 31 of the U.S. Code. These documents are final, decisional, and legally binding on agencies, and officials responsible for violating an apportionment may be subject to administrative discipline, including suspension without pay and termination, and the knowing and willful violation of an apportionment carries with it criminal penalties under the Antideficiency Act.

The 2022 bipartisan appropriations bills instated a requirement for OMB to publicly post in an accessible format all approved apportionments within two business days, along with any footnotes, an explanation for those footnotes. The following year, Congress made those requirements permanent. Those bipartisan requirements have been carried out for the last three years without incident—allowing lawmakers and the public to track OMB’s legal-binding budget decisions.

As of March 24, however, OMB’s apportionments database was taken down with no notice or explanation, and reporting indicates the website was destroyed in defiance of the bipartisan requirements enshrined in federal law that OMB maintain the site.

Importantly, there have never been national security concerns associated with this statutory requirement, and the law requires OMB to make any classified documentation referenced in any apportionment available at the request of the Chair or Ranking Member of any appropriate congressional committee. Classified programs are frequently addressed in public statutory language, including in the recently passed Republican full year continuing resolution, with classified annexes available on a need-to-know basis.

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