It is a blunder which many of us have made. In the modern world, it is all too easy to inadvertently share the wrong message with the wrong person. But the US government took the faux pas to a new level this week with the revelation that top officials had shared sensitive information in a chat group on the Signal app to which a journalist had been accidentally admitted.
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of the Atlantic magazine, was understandably suspicious at first that he was the subject of a hoax, but confirmation that he was in fact privy to a discussion between individuals including defence secretary Pete Hegseth, vice-president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz came when Hegseth posted information on the weapons, locations and timing of impending US airstrikes on Yemen. The strikes duly took place two hours later.
The White House subsequently confirmed the veracity of the communications, in which Vance expressed his doubts about the attack because it might benefit “freeloading” European countries which depend on shipping lanes in the region.
The conversation, with its liberal sprinklings of emojis representing flames, flags and flexed biceps, offers an insight into the mindset of the administration which is unsettling but not particularly surprising.
What is startling is the indifference towards long-established national security protocols. The actions may have been in breach of federal records laws, which forbid government employees from using personal channels or devices when conducting official business. The sustained assault by Republicans on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election over her use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state was based precisely on that principle.
Materials related to national security are held to an even higher standard, with communications supposedly restricted to secure government networks to minimise the risk of leaks or cyber-attacks. Signal is not such a network.
Even for an administration which regards shamelessness as a virtue, the affair is deeply embarrassing. It raises serious questions for Waltz, who accidentally invited Goldberg into the group, and for Hegseth, who appears to have shared sensitive classified information to it.
With hand-picked ultra-loyalists firmly in control of federal law enforcement, neither is likely to be too concerned about their position for the time being. And Republican control of Congress means Democrats will struggle to mount a meaningful investigation.
But the sheer absurdity of the incident will only revive accusations that Trump has appointed a cabinet of the incompetent and the unqualified. Sometimes there is nothing more politically devastating than ridicule.
