Is it wild that a 3rd party app like Signal is used for this type of communication? I feel like that's crazy.
I have never seen a breach quite like this. It is not uncommon for national-security officials to communicate on Signal. But the app is used primarily for meeting planning and other logistical matters—not for detailed and highly confidential discussions of a pending military action. And, of course, I’ve never heard of an instance in which a journalist has been invited to such a discussion.
Conceivably, Waltz, by coordinating a national-security-related action over Signal, may have violated several provisions of the Espionage Act, which governs the handling of “national defense” information, according to several national-security lawyers interviewed by my colleague Shane Harris for this story. Harris asked them to consider a hypothetical scenario in which a senior U.S. official creates a Signal thread for the express purpose of sharing information with Cabinet officials about an active military operation. He did not show them the actual Signal messages or tell them specifically what had occurred.
All of these lawyers said that a U.S. official should not establish a Signal thread in the first place. Information about an active operation would presumably fit the law’s definition of “national defense” information. The Signal app is not approved by the government for sharing classified information.
"Good enough for me!"
If what you're doing isn't wrong, why not record all of it for history?
When you get a clearance, it is inculcated upon you that you absolutely do not leak cleared information. If you THINK something cleared, it's best to treat it like it is.
It's possible that there is some 10D chess happening here, but I wouldn't expect details like this to be approved for apps like Signal.
Marco Rubio absolutely knows due process is a right for all persons subject to U.S. law. It's not only a right for citizens, and having taken this right away from persons, in no meaningful way can it be said it's preserves for citizens.
The federal government is at best in abeyance. And an adversary at worst.
Conversely, we know some people are not stupid. I dislike marco Rubio's politics for example, but he's a smart guy and widely considered to be competent. And as an attorney and a US Senator of long experience in intelligence matters, there's no way he's unaware of the legal implications of using a self-destructing messaging channel.
So, let me say the quiet part aloud, the presence of DNI & NSC heavies indicates to me that Signal is possibly not really a "3rd party".