WASHINGTON 鈥 President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed the texting of sensitive plans for a military strike against Yemen's Houthis this month to a group chat that included a journalist, claiming it was "the only glitch in two months" of his administration as Democratic lawmakers heaped criticism on the administration for handling highly sensitive information carelessly.
Trump told NBC News that the lapse "turned out not to be a serious one," and expressed his continued support for national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Waltz, according to an article posted online Monday by The Atlantic, appeared to have mistakenly added the magazine's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a chat that included 18 senior administration officials discussing planning for the strike.
"Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he's a good man," Trump said.
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The use of messaging app Signal to discuss a sensitive operation opened the administration to criticism from Democratic lawmakers who expressed outrage at the White House's and senior administration officials' insistence that no classified information was shared.
Senior administration officials struggled to explain why the publicly available app was used to discuss such a delicate matter.
Waltz comments
Waltz said Tuesday he was not sure how Goldberg ended up on the chat.
"This one in particular, I've never met, don't know, never communicated with," Waltz said.
"We won't be using it very much" in the future, Trump said of Signal. "That's one of the prices you pay when you're not sitting in the Situation Room with no phones on, which is always the best, frankly."
Trump added, "If it was up to me everybody would be sitting in a room together. The room would have solid lead walls and a lead ceiling and lead floor."
One official reported to be on the Signal chain, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, acknowledged during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday she was traveling overseas during the exchange. She wouldn't say whether she was using her personal or government-issued phone because the matter is under review by the White House National Security Council.
'An embarrassment'
Both Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who was a participant in the Signal exchange and also testified at Tuesday's intelligence hearing, faced criticism from lawmakers.
"Director Ratcliffe, this was a huge mistake, correct?" Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, asked.
After a brief pause, Ratcliffe shook his head. "No," he said.
Ratcliffe attempted to interject as Ossoff asked a follow-up question, leading the two men to speak over each other.
"This is an embarrassment," Ossoff said, silencing Ratcliffe. "This is utterly unprofessional. There's been no apology. There has been no recognition of the gravity of this error."
In the run-up to his 2016 election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump urged criminal prosecution of the former secretary of state for communicating about classified information with her aides on a private email server she set up. The matter was investigated, but the FBI ultimately recommended against charges. None were brought.
Clinton was among Democrats this week to criticize Trump administration officials' use of Signal.
"You have got to be kidding me," Clinton said in a social media post that spotlighted The Atlantic article.
Trump also faced charges for mishandling classified information at his Mar-a-Lago resort following his first White House term. Those charges were later dismissed.
Classified disagreement
But on Tuesday, top administration officials were insistent the Democratic outrage was misplaced.
Ratcliffe and Gabbard told lawmakers that no classified information was included in the texts about U.S. attack plans in the message chain.
But The Atlantic reported that the messages included precise information about weapons packages, targets and timing, but did not publish those details.
Pressed on whether such information should be classified, Gabbard hedged. "I defer to the secretary of defense, the National Security Council, on that question," she said.
Facing heated questions from Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, Gabbard said there's a difference between "inadvertent" releases of information and intentional leaks. "There was no classified material that was shared," Gabbard said.
Warner, though, said the lapse in security could have cost lives.
"If this information had gotten out, American lives could have been lost. If the Houthis had this information they could reposition their defensive systems," Warner said.
Calls for an investigation
In response to questions from Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Gabbard and Ratcliffe said they would participate in an audit looking into administration officials' use of Signal. Wyden said it must be investigated.
"I'm of the view that there ought to be resignations," Wyden said.
FBI Director Kash Patel, appearing with Ratcliffe and Gabbard at the hearing, said he was only recently briefed on the Signal chat matter and doesn't have an update on whether the FBI has opened an investigation into it. Warner asked for an update by the end of the day.
"Horrified" by the leak of what is historically strictly guarded information, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, said he will demand answers in a separate hearing Wednesday with his panel.
Threats hearing
Meanwhile, as Democrats focused the hearing on the text exchange, the Trump administration's intelligence officials stressed to Congress the threat they said is posed by international criminal gangs, drug cartels and human smuggling.
The annual hearing on worldwide threats before the Senate Intelligence Committee offered a glimpse of the new administration's reorienting of priorities. It comes as Trump opened a new line of communication with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and focused national security attention closer to home to counter violent crime that officials link to cross-border drug trafficking.
"Criminal groups drive much of the unrest and lawlessness in the Western Hemisphere," said Gabbard. Atop a long list of national security challenges, she cited the need to combat cartels that she said were "engaging in a wide array of illicit activity, from narcotics trafficking to money laundering to smuggling of illegal immigrants and human trafficking."
In the committee room, Republican senators hewed to the scheduled topic by drilling down on China and the fentanyl scourge, while Democrat after Democrat offered sharp criticism over a security breach they called reckless and dangerous.
Gabbard and other officials did note the U.S. government's longstanding national security concerns, including international terrorism and the threat she said was posed by countries including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
