Justlosingmymind

A journalist from The Atlantic was accidentally added to a Signal messaging group discussing military actions against the Houthi group in Yemen. The breach revealed sensitive details, including military strategy and classified information. The Pentagon later confirmed the authenticity of the messages, raising concerns about national security and communication protocols within the U.S. administration.

In an unprecedented leak, Jeffrey
Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, found himself accidentally included in a private chat group with the Trump administration’s senior national security officials. The group, created for discussions on airstrikes targeting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, exposed highly sensitive military plans, which Goldberg detailed in an explosive article titled, The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans.

#The Chat That Shouldn’t Have
Happened

Goldberg’s story began on March 11, when he received a Signal connection request from someone identifying as Michael Waltz, the national security adviser. Initially unsure whether it was truly Waltz, Goldberg reluctantly accepted the request, only to be added to a discussion chain called the “Houthi PC small group” two days later. The messages shared within this group included sensitive details about military operations targeting the Houthi rebel group, backed by Iran, in Yemen.

#A Reckless Breach of Security
Protocols

The Signal chat was populated by some of the highest-ranking officials in the Trump administration: Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, to name a few. They discussed everything from military targets to operational details. Goldberg shared his initial disbelief at the group's informality, with members, including top officials, casually debating strategic decisions like the timing of military strikes and potential impacts on oil prices and global trade. Waltz, unaware or unconcerned by Goldberg’s presence, continued to share increasingly sensitive details. The messages included information on the precise timing of the strikes, the weaponry to be used, and even discussions about military morale. This wasn’t just a logistical planning group—it was an in-depth look into the decision-making processes surrounding imminent military actions.

#Houthi Strikes: The Military
Action Unveiled

On March 15, just hours after these
discussions, the Trump administration launched a series of air and naval strikes against the Houthis. The Pentagon confirmed the operation was aimed at neutralizing key Houthi leaders in a bid to restore stability to the Red Sea. Waltz later appeared on ABC’s This Week, asserting the strikes were "an overwhelming response" that "actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders" and showed that the administration was "holding Iran responsible."

What makes this breach even more
troubling is the information shared
within the chat. Hegseth and others included extremely specific details about the weaponry to be used, the targets selected, and the sequence of events— information that could potentially have jeopardized the lives of American military personnel or compromised national security if exposed to adversaries.

#The Strange Nature of the Leak#

As Goldberg navigated this bizarre
situation, he consulted colleagues, who initially suspected the messages could be part of a disinformation campaign, designed to entrap or embarrass
journalists.** But as the hours passed, it became increasingly clear that the texts were authentic.** The language, tone, and depth of the discussions rejected the voices of the people they purported to be. Goldberg was left questioning how and why he had been included, and what kind of security lapse had allowed him to see these sensitive discussions.

#The Legal and Security Implications

This incident raises significant concerns about the security practices of senior U.S. officials. National security lawyers pointed out that discussions of active military operations should only occur on classified communication systems, not on apps like Signal, which are not approved for sharing classified information. Even though Signal is encrypted, it doesn’t meet the security standards required for sensitive government discussions.

There is also the matter of the Espionage Act and the Federal Records Act. The use of Signal to coordinate military action potentially violated both. Senior officials should not use unsecured apps for official business, as it risks leaking national security information. What’s more, by setting messages to disappear after a certain period, the officials also circumvented federal records laws, which mandate the preservation of government communications.

#The Aftermath and Official Responses

Goldberg eventually removed himself from the Signal group, prompting no immediate questions from the others. It was only after his article was published that National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes confirmed the authenticity of the Signal chat, calling it a "demonstration of deep and thoughtful policy coordination" but also acknowledging that an "inadvertent number" had been added to the chat.

The Trump administration's response has been mostly defensive. A spokesperson for Vice President Vance stressed that he supported the administration’s foreign policy, despite the controversial nature of the leak.

Meanwhile, legal experts have
warned that this breach could have far-reaching consequences, including for national security, operational secrecy, and the integrity of military planning.

#A Leak That Should Never Have Happened

In the end, Goldberg’s inclusion in the Signal chat was a glaring example of how easily sensitive national security information can slip through the cracks. While some might argue it was a simple mistake, the repercussions are far from trivial. With the actions of senior U.S. officials now exposed to public scrutiny, the case underscores the critical need for tighter security measures, especially when discussing sensitive military operations.

cross-posted from: https://possum.news/post/729

cross-posted from: https://possum.news/post/334

1)Do not obey in advance.

2)Defend institutions against capture and collapse.

3)Contest one-party rule. (It defaults to oppression.)

4)Challenge signs and symbols of hate or loyalty.

5)Remember and champion professional ethics.

6)Resist paramilitaries pushing violence into politics.

7)Be ready to say "no" to unlawful orders.

8)Stand out; set an example and others will follow.

9)Be mindful of parroting others words; read widely. TIMOTHY SNYDER: TWENTY LESSONS FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

10)Believe in truth, not lies or wishful thinking.

11)Investigate; verify information, follow sources you trust to do the same, and share what you learn.

12)Make eye contact and small talk; be observant, break down barriers, and learn whom to trust.

13)Go outside and take action with others in person.

14)Protect your privacy; don't indulge in distractions. "In politics, being deceived is no excuse." Leszek Kotakowski

15)Donate to and participate in good causes.

16)Seek out and learn from peers in other countries. STAY INFORMED

17)Call out manipulative or divisive language. federalnewsnetwork.com

18)Keep calm when the crisis arrives; do not give up. propublica.org

19)Be patriotic by advancing ideals, not grievances. ground.news

20)Be as courageous as you can. snyder.substack.com

This is not an ad. I'm sharing these because the crisis is here, truth still has power, and I refuse to give up. Will you?

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Wendell Phillips

cross-posted from: https://possum.news/post/2967

cross-posted from: https://possum.news/post/2966

cross-posted from: https://possum.news/post/2963

The time for us to stand united is now!!! Our government is in shambles and our rights, jobs, and lives are at stake. We need to come together in overwhelming numbers to say that enough is enough!

April 5th, 2025 there is a mass protest scheduled in Washington DC at the National Mall. EVERYONE should know about it. That's why today I leased a billboard next to the highway. I shared my story with some of you and it became clear that others feel the same way.

So let's do it. Let's get some billboards!!!

Our goal is to raise $10,000 to lease as many billboards as we can within roughly 150 miles of Washington DC to promote the peaceful day of action on April 5th. Together we will get the word out. Together we will stand side-by-side in Washington. And together WE WILL BE HEARD!!!

cross-posted from: https://possum.news/post/2963

The time for us to stand united is now!!! Our government is in shambles and our rights, jobs, and lives are at stake. We need to come together in overwhelming numbers to say that enough is enough!

April 5th, 2025 there is a mass protest scheduled in Washington DC at the National Mall. EVERYONE should know about it. That's why today I leased a billboard next to the highway. I shared my story with some of you and it became clear that others feel the same way.

So let's do it. Let's get some billboards!!!

Our goal is to raise $10,000 to lease as many billboards as we can within roughly 150 miles of Washington DC to promote the peaceful day of action on April 5th. Together we will get the word out. Together we will stand side-by-side in Washington. And together WE WILL BE HEARD!!!

The time for us to stand united is now!!! Our government is in shambles and our rights, jobs, and lives are at stake. We need to come together in overwhelming numbers to say that enough is enough!

April 5th, 2025 there is a mass protest scheduled in Washington DC at the National Mall. EVERYONE should know about it. That's why today I leased a billboard next to the highway. I shared my story with some of you and it became clear that others feel the same way.

So let's do it. Let's get some billboards!!!

Our goal is to raise $10,000 to lease as many billboards as we can within roughly 150 miles of Washington DC to promote the peaceful day of action on April 5th. Together we will get the word out. Together we will stand side-by-side in Washington. And together WE WILL BE HEARD!!!

cross-posted from: https://possum.news/post/2820

Philip Holsinger REPORTING FROM SAN LUIS TALPA, EL SALVADOR Holsinger is an American photojournalist based out of Nashville, Tenn.

On the night of Saturday, March 15, three planes touched down in El Salvador, carrying 261 men deported from the United States. A few dozen were Salvadoran, but most of the men were Venezuelans the Trump Administration had designated as gang members and deported, with little or no due process. I was there to document their arrival.

For more than a year, I have been embedded throughout El Salvador’s society, working on a book chronicling the country’s transformation. From the huts of remote island fishermen to the desk of the President, from elite homicide detective units to elementary school classrooms, I have interviewed government officials and everyday people, collecting stories that would shock Stephen King. I’ve stood in classrooms full of happy students which not long ago were empty, because children here once learned early that schools were places to be raped or recruited. I’ve interviewed killers in prison and sat with them face-to-face.

As I stood on the tarmac, an agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's ICE Special Response Team told me that some of the Venezuelans had weakly attempted to take over their plane upon landing. It wasn’t unusual for detainees to try to make a last stand, the agent said, guarding the doorway to the plane at the top of the gangway stairs. “They began to try to organize to overthrow the plane by screaming for everyone to stand up and fight. But not everyone was on board,” the agent said, cautioning me to be careful because some of the Venezuelans would fight once they were offloaded. 

Even if not fighting, almost all the detainees came to the door of the plane with angry, defiant faces. It was their faces that grabbed me, because within a few hours those faces would completely transform.

The Venezuelans emerging from their plane were not in prison clothes, but in designer jeans and branded tracksuits. Their faces were the faces of guys who in no way expected what they first saw—an ocean of soldiers and police, an entire army assembled to apprehend them.

One of the alleged organizers of the attempted overthrow fought the U.S. agents on the plane, cursing the Americans, the Salvadorans, President Nayib Bukele himself. El Salvador’s Minister of Defense, René Merino, who had been standing on the tarmac at the bottom of the gangway, rushed aboard, dragged the guy to the gangway himself, and flung him into the waiting hands of black-masked guards.

The transfer from the plane to the buses that would carry them to prison was rapid, yet it might as well have been the crossing of an ancient continent. I felt the detainees’ fear as they marched through a gauntlet of black-clad guards, guns raised like the spears of some terrible tribe. I walked the line of buses waiting to depart, photographing faces. A guard noticed one of the detainees turned toward the window and wrenched his head back down into his chest.

Around 2 a.m., the convoy of 22 buses, flanked by armored vehicles and police, moved out of the airport. Soldiers and police lined the 25-mile route to the prison, with thick patrols at every bridge and intersection. For the few Salvadorans, it was a familiar landscape. But for a Venezuelan plucked from America, it must have appeared dystopian—police and soldiers for miles and miles in woodland darkness.

The Terrorism Confinement Center, a notorious maximum-security prison known as CECOT, sits in an old farm field at the foot of an ancient volcano, brightly lit against the night sky. I’ve spent considerable time there and know the place intimately. As we entered the intake yard, the head of prisons was giving orders to an assembly of hundreds of guards. He told them the Venezuelans had tried to overthrow their plane, so the guards must be extremely vigilant. He told them plainly: Show them they are not in control.

The intake began with slaps. One young man sobbed when a guard pushed him to the floor. He said, “I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a barber.” I believed him. But maybe it’s only because he didn’t look like what I had expected—he wasn’t a tattooed monster.

The men were pulled from the buses so fast the guards couldn’t keep pace. Chained at their ankles and wrists, they stumbled and fell, some guards falling to the ground with them. With each fall came a kick, a slap, a shove. The guards grabbed necks and pushed bodies into the sides of the buses as they forced the detainees forward. There was no blood, but the violence had rhythm, like a theater of fear. 

Inside the intake room, a sea of trustees descended on the men with electric shavers, stripping heads of hair with haste. The guy who claimed to be a barber began to whimper, folding his hands in prayer as his hair fell. He was slapped. The man asked for his mother, then buried his face in his chained hands and cried as he was slapped again.

After being shaved, the detainees were stripped naked. More of them began to whimper; the hard faces I saw on the plane had evaporated. It was like looking at men who passed through a time machine. In two hours, they aged 10 years. Their nice clothes were not gathered or catalogued but simply thrust into black garbage bags to be thrown out with their hair.

They entered their cold cells, 80 men per cell, with steel planks for bunks, no mats, no sheets, no pillow. No television. No books. No talking. No phone calls and no visitors. For these Venezuelans, it was not just a prison they had arrived at. It was exile to another world, a place so cold and far from home they may as well have been sent into space, nameless and forgotten. Holding my camera, it was as if I watched them become ghosts.

Philip Holsinger REPORTING FROM SAN LUIS TALPA, EL SALVADOR Holsinger is an American photojournalist based out of Nashville, Tenn.

On the night of Saturday, March 15, three planes touched down in El Salvador, carrying 261 men deported from the United States. A few dozen were Salvadoran, but most of the men were Venezuelans the Trump Administration had designated as gang members and deported, with little or no due process. I was there to document their arrival.

For more than a year, I have been embedded throughout El Salvador’s society, working on a book chronicling the country’s transformation. From the huts of remote island fishermen to the desk of the President, from elite homicide detective units to elementary school classrooms, I have interviewed government officials and everyday people, collecting stories that would shock Stephen King. I’ve stood in classrooms full of happy students which not long ago were empty, because children here once learned early that schools were places to be raped or recruited. I’ve interviewed killers in prison and sat with them face-to-face.

As I stood on the tarmac, an agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's ICE Special Response Team told me that some of the Venezuelans had weakly attempted to take over their plane upon landing. It wasn’t unusual for detainees to try to make a last stand, the agent said, guarding the doorway to the plane at the top of the gangway stairs. “They began to try to organize to overthrow the plane by screaming for everyone to stand up and fight. But not everyone was on board,” the agent said, cautioning me to be careful because some of the Venezuelans would fight once they were offloaded. 

Even if not fighting, almost all the detainees came to the door of the plane with angry, defiant faces. It was their faces that grabbed me, because within a few hours those faces would completely transform.

The Venezuelans emerging from their plane were not in prison clothes, but in designer jeans and branded tracksuits. Their faces were the faces of guys who in no way expected what they first saw—an ocean of soldiers and police, an entire army assembled to apprehend them.

One of the alleged organizers of the attempted overthrow fought the U.S. agents on the plane, cursing the Americans, the Salvadorans, President Nayib Bukele himself. El Salvador’s Minister of Defense, René Merino, who had been standing on the tarmac at the bottom of the gangway, rushed aboard, dragged the guy to the gangway himself, and flung him into the waiting hands of black-masked guards.

The transfer from the plane to the buses that would carry them to prison was rapid, yet it might as well have been the crossing of an ancient continent. I felt the detainees’ fear as they marched through a gauntlet of black-clad guards, guns raised like the spears of some terrible tribe. I walked the line of buses waiting to depart, photographing faces. A guard noticed one of the detainees turned toward the window and wrenched his head back down into his chest.

Around 2 a.m., the convoy of 22 buses, flanked by armored vehicles and police, moved out of the airport. Soldiers and police lined the 25-mile route to the prison, with thick patrols at every bridge and intersection. For the few Salvadorans, it was a familiar landscape. But for a Venezuelan plucked from America, it must have appeared dystopian—police and soldiers for miles and miles in woodland darkness.

The Terrorism Confinement Center, a notorious maximum-security prison known as CECOT, sits in an old farm field at the foot of an ancient volcano, brightly lit against the night sky. I’ve spent considerable time there and know the place intimately. As we entered the intake yard, the head of prisons was giving orders to an assembly of hundreds of guards. He told them the Venezuelans had tried to overthrow their plane, so the guards must be extremely vigilant. He told them plainly: Show them they are not in control.

The intake began with slaps. One young man sobbed when a guard pushed him to the floor. He said, “I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a barber.” I believed him. But maybe it’s only because he didn’t look like what I had expected—he wasn’t a tattooed monster.

The men were pulled from the buses so fast the guards couldn’t keep pace. Chained at their ankles and wrists, they stumbled and fell, some guards falling to the ground with them. With each fall came a kick, a slap, a shove. The guards grabbed necks and pushed bodies into the sides of the buses as they forced the detainees forward. There was no blood, but the violence had rhythm, like a theater of fear. 

Inside the intake room, a sea of trustees descended on the men with electric shavers, stripping heads of hair with haste. The guy who claimed to be a barber began to whimper, folding his hands in prayer as his hair fell. He was slapped. The man asked for his mother, then buried his face in his chained hands and cried as he was slapped again.

After being shaved, the detainees were stripped naked. More of them began to whimper; the hard faces I saw on the plane had evaporated. It was like looking at men who passed through a time machine. In two hours, they aged 10 years. Their nice clothes were not gathered or catalogued but simply thrust into black garbage bags to be thrown out with their hair.

They entered their cold cells, 80 men per cell, with steel planks for bunks, no mats, no sheets, no pillow. No television. No books. No talking. No phone calls and no visitors. For these Venezuelans, it was not just a prison they had arrived at. It was exile to another world, a place so cold and far from home they may as well have been sent into space, nameless and forgotten. Holding my camera, it was as if I watched them become ghosts.

==========

WE FOUND ELON MUSK’S DOGE EMAIL ADDRESS AND WE’RE FIGHTING TO REVEAL HIS MESSAGES

The Intercept is publishing Elon Musk’s government email address to aid those seeking information on DOGE in the public interest.

Elon Musk meets with Senate Republicans in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2025. Photo: Annabelle Gordon/Sipa USA via AP Images
THE FREEDOM OF Information Act is a vital tool to expose how the U.S. government operates, and it’s especially critical when it comes to Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Musk and DOGE have slashed staffing and spending at vital federal agencies with startling secrecy and speed.

FOIA works best when requests are as specific as possible. The U.S. government sometimes plays games with journalists, researchers, and other watchdogs, rejecting asks it considers too vague — such as requests for correspondence that fail to include an official’s government email address.

That’s why The Intercept is publishing Musk’s government email address.

According to a source, Musk has been assigned the email address erm71@who.eop.gov. The email address reflects his attachment to the White House Office, the Executive Office of the President, and, apparently, Musk’s full initials plus his birth year, 1971. This differs from the standard format for EOP emails, which typically include the staffer’s full first and last name.

The Intercept has already filed more than a dozen FOIA requests for Musk’s emails using this information.

Musk did not reply to a request for comment sent to his email address. Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff who nominally supervises Musk, also did not reply to The Intercept’s inquiry.

Along with FOIA requests sent to DOGE itself, The Intercept also sent requests to federal agencies that have been key partners in DOGE’s demolition effort, such as the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management.

The Intercept has also filed FOIA requests for Musk’s emails with high-ranking officials at agencies that have been targeted by DOGE in recent weeks, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, Social Security Administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Education, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, IRS, Department of Commerce, and Treasury Department.

The Trump administration has taken measures to shield Musk and DOGE from public accountability and transparency, including by making the case that DOGE itself is not subject to FOIA at all. In the executive order establishing DOGE, Trump decreed that it would be housed within the Executive Office of the President and that its administrator would report to the White House chief of staff. This fact alone, government lawyers argued, means DOGE is not covered by FOIA, which does not apply to the president and close White House advisers.

“We’re seeing those blatant inconsistencies between what DOGE is doing and what the government is saying.”
But transparency advocates argue Trump does not have the power to categorically exempt DOGE from public scrutiny like this, given the sweeping authority DOGE has apparently been given to slash agency spending and fire staff.

“You have to look at what DOGE is actually doing,” said Chioma Chukwu, interim executive director of American Oversight, a watchdog organization that sued DOGE under FOIA in mid-February. “We’re seeing those blatant inconsistencies between what DOGE is doing and what the government is saying.”

“DOGE is wielding influence over federal agencies,” Chukwu said, which undermines the administration’s position “that DOGE is just designed to advise the president. It is not. It is the key tool the federal government is using to gut the federal workforce.”

Do you have information about DOGE? Use a personal device to contact Shawn Musgrave on Signal at shawnmusgrave.82

In court, government attorneys have claimed Musk is not DOGE’s actual leader, but only a “senior advisor to the President.” This is contrary to Trump’s repeated characterizations of Musk’s role, including in his address to Congress on Tuesday, in which the president said DOGE was “headed by Elon Musk.” Groups suing over DOGE’s lack of transparency quickly filed these remarks in court as part of a bid to get discovery about DOGE, including a deposition of Musk himself.

“The government has given shifting and conflicting answers on Mr. Musk’s role, what DOGE is doing, and under what legal authority DOGE is operating,” said Donald Sherman, chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, another watchdog group that has filed two lawsuits so far over DOGE, one of which seeks to force DOGE to comply with FOIA requests.

In a lawsuit filed in late February, a third watchdog, the Project on Government Oversight, seeks a straight up-or-down ruling that DOGE is an agency subject to FOIA given its “self-contained structure” and its “substantial independent authority.”

So far, the government has not filed responses to either POGO’s or American Oversight’s lawsuits. All of The Intercept’s FOIA requests for DOGE records are still pending.

But it seems DOGE and its attorneys are gearing up for further FOIA fights. As part of its takeover of the CFPB, DOGE secured an agreement under which the CFPB would “coordinate with” DOGE’s lawyers about any FOIA requests pertaining to DOGE’s work.

“At every step, despite promising maximal transparency,” said Sherman, “they are taking every step they possibly can to shield DOGE’s operations from the public and from Congress.”

https://theintercept.com/2025/03/06/elon-musk-doge-email-address-foia/

(Edited to fix formatting and add link)

cross-posted from: https://possum.news/post/826

This public resource tracks legal challenges to Trump administration actions. If you think we are missing anything, you can email us at lte@justsecurity.org. Special thanks to Just Security Student Staff Editors Anna Braverman, Isaac Buck, Rick Da, Charlotte Kahan, and Jeremy Venook, and to Matthew Fouracre and Nour Soubani.

The Tracker was first published on Jan. 29, 2025 and is continually updated. Last updated March 21, 2025.

(Edited for formatting and to add a link)

This public resource tracks legal challenges to Trump administration actions. If you think we are missing anything, you can email us at lte@justsecurity.org. Special thanks to Just Security Student Staff Editors Anna Braverman, Isaac Buck, Rick Da, Charlotte Kahan, and Jeremy Venook, and to Matthew Fouracre and Nour Soubani.

The Tracker was first published on Jan. 29, 2025 and is continually updated. Last updated March 21, 2025.

We need all the help we can get in this cyber warfare future we’re hurdling towards.

cross-posted from: https://possum.news/post/334

1)Do not obey in advance.

2)Defend institutions against capture and collapse.

3)Contest one-party rule. (It defaults to oppression.)

4)Challenge signs and symbols of hate or loyalty.

5)Remember and champion professional ethics.

6)Resist paramilitaries pushing violence into politics.

7)Be ready to say "no" to unlawful orders.

8)Stand out; set an example and others will follow.

9)Be mindful of parroting others words; read widely. TIMOTHY SNYDER: TWENTY LESSONS FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

10)Believe in truth, not lies or wishful thinking.

11)Investigate; verify information, follow sources you trust to do the same, and share what you learn.

12)Make eye contact and small talk; be observant, break down barriers, and learn whom to trust.

13)Go outside and take action with others in person.

14)Protect your privacy; don't indulge in distractions. "In politics, being deceived is no excuse." Leszek Kotakowski

15)Donate to and participate in good causes.

16)Seek out and learn from peers in other countries. STAY INFORMED

17)Call out manipulative or divisive language. federalnewsnetwork.com

18)Keep calm when the crisis arrives; do not give up. propublica.org

19)Be patriotic by advancing ideals, not grievances. ground.news

20)Be as courageous as you can. snyder.substack.com

This is not an ad. I'm sharing these because the crisis is here, truth still has power, and I refuse to give up. Will you?

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Wendell Phillips